“Unmoved By The Cross”
The Impact of The Cross – Part One
Two men had indulged in every sinful activity imaginable while away on a business trip together. In the morning as they were making their way to the airport, one man challenged the other, he said, “I dare you to go over to that Cathedral over there and confess everything you did last night to the priest. I ‘ll bet you $100 you can’t do that, it would give the priest a heart attack.”
The other man said, “easy money, I’ll do it with ease.” He walked into he Cathedral and went into the confessional and began with, “Father forgive me for I have sinned.” And then in graphic detail he told of every escapade of the night before.
But the priest being very perceptive was able to discern the insincerity of the man’s confession. He said, “Son, your penance will be to walk to the front of the Cathedral and kneel before the life size statue of Jesus dying on the cross. And I want you to look into the suffering face of the savior and I want you to say, “Jesus, all this you did for me, and I couldn’t care less.”
The man came out laughing from the confessional booth demanding the $100 from the bet. But his friend said, “Oh no it’s not complete yet, not until you do your penance.” “I’ll do it he said, it’s no big deal.”
So he stood in front of the cross – and flippantly said, “Jesus all this you did for me and I…..” And just then the teachings of his childhood came back to him, something he had heard and learned echoed in his mind and it was John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not die, but have eternal life.”
He cleared his throat and tried again, “Lord Jesus, all this you did for me….” AND then he burst into tears and fell on his face and repented for his sins…
Listen there is an awesome power about the cross of Christ. Jesus said, “But I when I am lifted up from the earth , will draw all men to myself.” Jn 3:16
It is at the cross that sinners are convicted; the arrogant are humbled; the hardened are broken, the skeptic convinced, the weak strengthened and the repentant forgiven.. Max Lucado in his book No Wonder They Call Him Savior, says of the cross;
The cross rests on the time line of history like a compelling diamond. Its tragedy summons all sufferers. Its absurdity attracts all cynics. It’s hope lures all searchers…
My what a piece of wood! History - has idolized it and despised it; gold plated it and burned it; worn it and trashed it. History has done everything to it but ignore it.
That’s the one option that the cross does not offer. No one can ignore it! You can’t ignore a piece of lumber that suspends the greatest claim in history. A crucified carpenter claiming that he is God on earth? Divine? Eternal? The death-slayer?
Paul wrote the following words in 1 Cor 1:18;
“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it IS the power of God…”
Circle – the message of the cross if foolishness…
Now a crucified Savior might not sound unusual to us, but for a Jew in Paul’s day – it was a total contradiction of terms. It is like saying “icy cold flames or hot ice.” It would be like calling a pizza place and asking for a small large pizza or asking for a meat lovers vegetarian pizza. A crucified Messiah defied all Jewish reasoning. Every hope they had in a Messiah was a strong and powerful king coming to defeat their enemies. They wanted powerful conquering hero and instead they got a stumbling block.. Yes to the Jewish mind the cross was a contradiction and to the Roman mind a crucified God was just plain ridiculous
A cartoon has been found in the ruins of ancient Rome showing how crazy the Christian message seemed to the people of that time. It’s a caricature of Jesus’ crucifixion, showing a man’s body hanging on a cross – but the body has a head of a donkey. Standing to left of this cross is a man with his hands raised in worship. Underneath is the inscription, “he worships his God!”
Listen - some people today still believe that the cross is foolishness. One well known example is Ted Turner, years ago he told the Dallas Morning News that Christianity is a religion for losers. He said, “I’ve had a few drinks and a few girlfriends, and if that’s gonna put me hell, then so be it.” According to many today like Ted Turner only losers would put their faith in a Savior who lost his own life – being executed like as a criminal.
Understand - Many people today can, and do, stand before the cross and are totally indifferent… But to those of us who are Christians we know that the cross is the power of God. Go back to that verse and circle – “it is the power of God.”
We know that it is at the cross; that our sins are forgiven, our attitudes transformed, death is defeated and our hope comes alive! It’s at the cross that our lives begin to change.
Max Lucado shares in one of his books about a time when he was sitting and having coffee with a Canadian college student named Ian. Ian had grow up in church and had taken courses on theology and wanted to go into the ministry – but he quit because something just didn’t click…He had become disappointed and disillusioned with the church. He asked Max, “What really matters? What really counts? Don’t give me religion, give me what really matters..”
Max goes on the say the following….
In your bible of over 1,000 pages what matters? Among all the do’s and don’ts and shoulds and shouldn’ts, what is essential?
What would you have said to Ian? Would you have spoken of the evil of the world or maybe the eminence of heaven? Would you have quoted Jn 3:16 or Acts 2:38 or maybe 1 Cor 13? What really matters?
You’ve probably wrestled with this question. Maybe you’ve gone through the acts of religion and faith and yet found yourself more often than not as dry as a well…
Is this all there is? Sunday school attendance, pretty songs, faithful tithing. Golden crosses. Three piece suits. Bible choirs. Leather bibles. It’s nice and all but where is the heart of it?
Max at the time was unable to give Ian an answer….If he had another chance he said that he knows what he would share with him, it’s the passage we read last week in our study called ‘Because He Lives!!!”
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ DIED for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was BURIED that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” 1 Cor 15:3
What is it that matters? What is it that is of first importance? – The cross….
That’s why for the next several weeks leading up to Easter – we are going to be talking about the cross in a series we’re calling, “The Impact of the Cross.”
Listen – the cross is the power of God – it is the heart of the gospel message – and the cross of Christ still impacts lives today… WHEN Jesus Christ is lifted up – he still draws men today…
And let me tell you as I sat in my office this past Tuesday and began typing these words – I felt an excitement, an anticipation about this ‘new’ series of messages come over me like I have never felt before, in my 10 years of full time preaching… Friends, brothers and sisters, church - I know that by our focusing on the cross for the next several weeks – This church is going to be impacted in Eph 3:20 kind of ways.
I don’t think that we are going to be the same people on April 15th that we are today. I really believe that some wild, crazy, awesome & glorious things are going to happen here!.
The impact of the cross in the next 4 weeks is going to bring some people to salvation – And the impact of the cross of Christ is going to cause some believers in this body to ignite like never before for Jesus Christ and His church and become - real, alive, sold out, transformed, light bearing, soul saving, hope giving, life changing, prayer believing, bible toting, scripture quoting, truth sharing, sin hating, God loving, Jesus lifting, satan crushing - believers.... AND listen hear me, the reason I am so stoked is not because I confidence in the power of my preaching, BUT because I have confidence in the power of the cross.
PRAYER…..
Now, the way we are going to approach this series is to look at the impact that the cross had on those who were there, on that hill, 2,000 years ago… This morning we are going to look at the soldiers in a message entitled, “Unmoved By The Cross…”
Read John 19:23-24
Try to picture that scene for a moment. These men, were witnessing THE most significant event in all of history – YET they missed it. They missed it because they were too busy looking down, throwing dice, rather than looking UP – and beholding the Christ. What a tragedy to be so close to the cross, BUT so far from Christ.
I mean, these guys were touching the very Son of God – YET they were not touched buy it. And what we will discover today, IS that the reason these soldiers were unmoved by the cross, is the same reason many people today are not moved…
And one reason the Roman soldiers were unmoved by the cross is because of
Familiarity
Crucifixions were very routine to these men. It was the Roman form of the electric chair. It was the means by which criminals paid the ultimate penalty for their crimes.
Crucifixion was a form of execution that the Romans had learned from the Persians. By the time of Christ, crucifixion had become the favorite method of execution throughout the Roman Empire, and especially in Judea, where it was regularly used to make a public example of rioters and insurrectionists. According to Josephus, after Herod the Great died, the Roman governor of Syria, crucified 2,000 men in order to quell an uprising. By the time of Christ Rome had already crucified more than 30,000 people in and around Judea.
Skip Gray in his book, The Way of The Cross says,
Tradition tells us that around the time when Jesus was a teenager, there was a rebellion near where he lived. The Roman army crushed the rebellion but they didn’t want it to happen again, so they crucified an Israelite every 10 meters along the road for a distance of 16 kilometers. The sight of some 1,700 people, dead or dying in agony, on crosses spaced every 30 feet for 10 miles must have made an incredible impression on the mind of a teenager.
So you see, these soldiers probably had performed so many crucifixions that it was methodical to them. It was their job – it was what they did for a living. They had become numb, they were used to it, just another day at the office. Though they heard the screams and the cries for mercy, they had learned to ignore them and move on, so that they get it done and go home and eat dinner.
Listen - my fear for us today is that for many the cross has lost it’s impact because of familiarity. We see crosses everywhere; on top of buildings, on tomb stones, tee shirts, on the jewelry that we wear. You know it is really amazing when you think about it, that the instrument of execution of the first century has become a fashion statement.
BUT – understand there is a major difference between displaying the cross and being transformed by the cross… (The singer Madonna often wears a huge cross around her neck. When asked years ago why she wore it – she said, “Crosses are in, I think a cross is sexy – after all it has a naked man on it…”)
I don’t know about you but that statement makes me cringe….
The law of familiarity says, “no matter how valuable, given enough time, everything will be taken for granted.” (and we see that played out in life with our spouse, kids, parents)
In like manner - it is possible for Christians who attend church regularly to no longer be moved by the cross because it has become too familiar. Maybe you have reached a point in your life where you can sing about the Old Rugged Cross - without even realizing the impact of the words you are singing…
And did you know, that there are even churches today in an effort to reach people, who have gone to the other extreme, they have removed the cross all together from any piece of literature and from their buildings. A professor at a seminary in Louisville recently said, “we don’t need a Jesus dying on a cross and other weird stuff like that…”
BUT please understand - to take way the cross is to take away our hope – it is to leave without the only path that will take us back home…
Years ago when Edward 1 was king of England, His wife Queen Eleanor died in northern England. King Edward made the long journey back to London with her body. The trip was long and they made many stops on the way, and each morning before the left the king would erect a cross. Finally he reached London and took her body to the west end and erected his last cross. It is called the Charring (chairing) cross.
Many years later a little girl wandered away from home and got lost. A policeman found her sobbing and attempted to find out where she lived. He named a number of famous places hoping her home would be near one of them…finally he named the Charring Cross. The little girl’s eyes lit up, “O yes, yes, I know where the charring cross is. Mister take me to the cross and I can find my way home…
Listen - Don’t let the cross become so familiar to you – that you are no longer moved by it. Because the cross is the way home.
Last week, we showed a video that depicted ‘some’ of the scenes of the crucifixion. Let me ask you a question - were you moved by those images? Did they have an impact on you?
Have you ever seen a passion play – reenactment and found yourself wanting to jumped right into the scene and yell, “stop!!!!” because you can’t stand to see them hurting ‘your’ Jesus? NOW, perhaps that may sound extreme to you – but isn’t that better than apathy?
Friends, do not allow your heart to become calloused with indifference because you have seen, heard and sung about the cross so many times... Hebrews 3:15 says; "TODAY, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.."
THERE was a second contributing factor to the soldiers indifference – They were unmoved by the cross because of their;
Prejudice Against the People Of God
You see, the Romans hated the Jews and the feelings were mutual.
The Jews hated the Romans because they oppressed them. We don’t like it when people oppress us do we?
(We don’t like it when our sports teams lose and someone calls us up and gloats over the fact that our team lost. Now, I would never do something like that – BUT there are some people who do.)
THINK about the Jewish people. They were a proud, independent people and they were miserable under Roman oppression. Some Jewish zealots would carry sharp knives under their coats so that in a large crowd they could cut a Roman soldier as he walked by and then run away without being caught….
Roman soldiers hated to be stationed in Palestine. The religious restrictions, the racial prejudice and rebellious populace made it one of their least favorite assignments. Therefore when one of their superiors said, “We have a Jewish rebel here and we want you to torture and crucify him,” they relished the opportunity.
That’s why, the Roman soldiers punched Jesus with their fists, that’s why they mocked him with the robe, crown of thorns and that is why they spit on him, kicked him and pulled his beard out.
Do you remember the pictures of that US soldier beaten & killed drug through the streets of Somalia? Those who murdered him did not know him – it was just a convenient scapegoat for their hatred of America.
Likewise – when the Romans soldiers beat on Jesus – it wasn’t personal. Jesus was just a convenient target for their frustration and hatred for the Jewish people. THAT’S why they never even allowed it to cross their minds that this ‘low life Jew’ could possibly be the Son of God - because they were prejudice against the people of God.
And understand – people today are still unmoved by the cross for the same reason – prejuice against the people of God….
Christian writer Nancy Ortberg says, “The only time I saw her father cry was when he related a story of when he was a little boy during the depression, and his mother went to the local church asking for financial assistance and the church said no.” She said, “My father wept as he told about how broken my grandmother was. She said “my dad has never been back to church since. He’s not angry, He’s just indifferent.”
Maybe you are not moved by the cross because you’re prejudice against the people that the cross represents. A Christian exploited you, a church offended you, a preacher turned you off…
Maybe you are unmoved by the cross because of your ‘personal’ experience with the people of God. Perhaps, what you saw maybe even from a family member (parent, spouse, uncle) – was sheer hypcrocisy – they got all dressed up on Sunday and spoke about grace - But lived by the law; they talked of love but showed signs of hate…. They recited “forgive my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me” YET you knew their heart was full of bitterness and unforgivness. They sang of joy – but yet if anyone dared to express any joy or excitement they were quickly chastised them.
Yes perhaps, you are unmoved by the cross because of the hypocritical, joyless, legalistic, mean spiritedness of the people of God.
The atheistic philosopher Freidrich Neitzche was once asked what made him so negative toward Christians. He replied, “I would believe in their salvation if they looked a little more like people who have been saved.”
Listen – my challenge to you today, is for you to see beyond the hypocritical imperfect followers of Christ and see Christ himself. Will YOU rise above the crowd around Jesus and see him personally.
In Hebrews chapter 12 we read;
“let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3(NIV)
Circle – “let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”
Because of familiarity and prejudice against the people of God the Romans soldiers like many still today were unmoved by the cross – a third reason they were unmoved by the cross was because of;
Material Things
THERE WAS SOME DICE-THROWING THAT WENT ON AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. IMAGINE THE SCENE. THE SOLDIERS ARE HUDDLED IN A CIRCLE, THEIR EYES TURNED DOWNWARD. THE CRIMINAL ABOVE THEM IS FORGOTTEN. THEY GAMBLE FOR SOME USED CLOTHES. THE TUNIC, THE CLOAK, THE SANDALS, ARE ALL UP FOR GRABS. EACH SOLDIER LAYS HIS LUCK ON THE HARD EARTH, HOPING TO EXPAND HIS WARDROBE AT THE EXPENSE OF A CROSS-KILLED CARPENTER.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT THAT SCENE MUST HAVE LOOKED LIKE TO JESUS? AS HE LOOKED DOWNWARD PAST HIS BLOODY FEET AT THE CIRCLE OF GAMBLERS, WHAT DID HE THINK? WHAT EMOTIONS DID HE FEEL?
HE MUST HAVE BEEN AMAZED. HERE ARE COMMON SOLDIERS WITNESSING THE WORLD’S MOST UNCOMMON EVENT AND THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW IT. AS FAR AS THEY’RE CONCERNED, IT’S JUST ANOTHER FRIDAY MORNING AND HE’S JUST ANOTHER CRIMINAL.
“COME ON, HURRY UP; IT’S MY TURN!” “ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT-THIS THROW IS FOR THE SANDALS.” CASTING LOTS FOR THE POSSESSIONS CHRIST. HEADS DUCKED. EYES DOWNWARD. CROSS FORGOTTEN. THE SYMBOLISM IS STRIKING. DO YOU SEE IT!
THE SOLDIERS ARE SO CLOSE TO THE CROSS BUT SO FAR THE CHRIST. NOW, THEY CERTAINLY DIDN’T MIND CUTTING UP THE BODY OF JESUS, BUT HIS CLOTHES, THOSE MATERIAL POSSESSIONS , THOSE THEY ROLLED DICE FOR .
AND THEY WERE SO BUSY LOOKING DOWN, THINKING ABOUT MATERIAL POSSESSIONS THAT THEY NEVER LOOKED UP TO SEE THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
Have you ever heard the saying – that, “if satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy?”
Some people today – maybe even some in this room are not moved by the cross or the Christ because they are too busy looking down at the things of the world. They are too busy chasing after the things that the world says they need; wealth, power, possessions, fame, glory, pleasure, popularity, thrills, success, status…
It is hard to focus on the Christ, when your head is looking down at the world…
Understand that satan will try to distract you from focusing on the main thing – Christ & the cross. Here is an example I’m sure we can all relate to – it shows how difficult it is to keep the world out of your mind for even 5 minutes. Have you ever found your mind losing it’s proper focus during the Lord Supper…
You find yourself thinking about…. The ball game your going to watch – the meal your going to eat – the business trip you are fly out for the next morning – the house and yard that needs cleaning… At times it seems our minds can drift anywhere but to the cross….
If your head is looking down today at the things of the world?
Would you lift it UP – would you let your eyes focus on Jesus – SEE Him on the cross dying for you…
Friends;
If it is true that your sins have separated you from God – and they have.
And if it’s true that Jesus’ death on the cross was a substitutionary death for the forgiveness of your sins – and that is exactly what the bible says
And if it is really true that by our choosing Jesus Christ to be our substitute through faith, repentance & baptism – that we are given the power of God to defeat sin and conquer the grave as Jesus did – and the bible says that as well…
THEN the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is absolutely the most important event in the history of your life.
TAKE your eyes off the things of this world and put them on the cross of Christ! Look up and see how God demonstrated his love for you. For while you were a sinner, God’s enemy He sent Jesus to die for you.
DON”T make the things of this world too important – the world and it’s desires are passing away. . Focus on the eternal… Fix your eyes on what matters. Hold to the cross…
Legendary U.C.L.A. basketball coach John Wooden who led his team to 7 consecutive national Championships is a great guy and a strong Christian. A reporter once ask him how he was able to remain so clam admidst all the pressure of the game? Coach Wooden with a grin on face replied, “Well I carry a cross in my pocket. And when things get difficult and crazy in a game I reach into my pocket and feel that cross, and it reminds me that there is something much more important than basketball…”
The apostle Paul said it this way;
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance ; that Christ Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was arsied on the tird day according to the scriptures…’ 1 Cor 15:3,4
My challenge to you this morning is of first importance, would you look again and see beyond the familiarity of the cross? Would you look past your prejudice towards the people of God and would you see beyond the material things of this world and see Jesus dying for you?
IF you do those things you will never be unmoved by the cross again. Listen - when Jesus becomes the focus of your life the cross will become the place where you can lay all your burdens down and find God’s love and acceptance…
You know I’ve spent a lot of time this week – studying and reading about the cross… One article I came across this week, talked about how some churches on their crosses still show Christ on the cross. And how those who do not do so to stress the resurrection and the fact the Jesus is no longer suffering – to underscore the truth that Jesus died once and for all… He is not on the cross anymore. (I’ve always like the empty cross for those reasons)
But this author got me to rethink this alittle… when he made the following statement, “have we thrown the baby out with the bath water… Have we lost something by removing Jesus from the cross… I mean doesn’t our cross look awfully sanitized? Doesn’t it permit us to overlook the pain and agony of that cruel death. To paraphrase the little all lady in the hamburger commercial – “Where’s the blood?”
In the few minutes that remain – I’d like us to consider Jesus on the cross as I share with part of an article I came across this week, it is entitled, A Physician Testifies About The Crucifixion.
After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was next brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphus, the High Priest; it is here that the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiphus. The palace guards then blind-folded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed by, spat upon Him, and struck Him in the face.
In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from a sleepless night, Jesus is taken across the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. You are, of course, familiar with Pilate’s action in attempting to pass responsibility to Herod. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.
There is much disagreement among authorities about the unusual scourging as a prelude to crucifixion. Most Roman writers from this period do not associate the two. Many scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged as his full punishment and that the death sentence by crucifixion came only in response to the taunt by the mob that the Procurator was not properly defending Caesar against this pretender who allegedly claimed to be the King of the Jews.
Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head.
The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs. At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.
The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped.
The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still need a crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible branches covered with long thorns (commonly used in bundles for firewood) are plaited into the shape of a crown and this is pressed into His scalp. Again there is copious bleeding, the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.
After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from His back. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, its removal causes excruciating pain just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, and almost as though He were again being whipped the wounds once more begin to bleed.
In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments. The heavy crossbeam (~100 pounds) is tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion begins its slow journey along the Via Dolorosa.
In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance.
The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock, until the 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed.
Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the crossbeam on the ground and Jesus quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action being careful not to pull the arms to tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The crossbeam is then lifted in place at the top of the stipes and the sign reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" is nailed in place.
The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain -- the nails in the writs are putting pressure on the median nerves. As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet.
At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences recorded:
The first, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."
The second, to the penitent thief, "Today you will be with me in Paradise."
The third, looking down at the terrified, grief-stricken John -- the beloved Apostle -- he said, "here is your mother” Then, looking to His mother Mary, "Dear woman here is your son.”
The fourth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins...A terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.
One remembers again the 22nd Psalm, the 14th verse: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me…”
It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain.
Jesus gasps His fifth cry, "I thirst."
One remembers another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm: "My strength is dried up like a clay pot; and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, you lay me in the dust of death.”
A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple drink of the Roman legionaries, is lifted to His lips. He apparently doesn’t take any of the liquid. The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper, "It is finished."
His mission of atonement has completed. Finally He can allow his body to die.
With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit."
In Isaiah the 53rd chapter we read;
He had no special beauty or form to make us notice him; there was nothing in His appearance to make us desire him. He was hated and rejected by people. He had much pain and suffering. People would not even look at him. He was hated and we didn’t even notice him.
BUT he took our suffering on Him and felt our pain for us. We saw His suffering and thought God was punishing him. But He was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment which made us well was given to him and we are healed because of His wounds…”
- Is 53:2-6 (NCV)
Look again at the cross
That’s the Son of God
That’s Your sin and mine on his shoulders
That’s real blood, real pain and real nails….
AND He did it all for YOU… Because of His intense love for YOU - Jesus as a title of a book I’m reading says, “Choose Nails”
The nails in your hands
The nails in your feet
They tell me how much you love me
The thorns on your brow
They tell me how
You bore so much pain to love me….
