A Few People Meet A Savior Series

A Few People Meet the Savior

We’ve been walking to the cross over the last three Sundays ­ now we’re finally there. Watching some clips from the Jesus video has helped us, and we’re going to watch another one tonight.

Clip #1: The Reality of Christ’s Death

The first clip we’re going to look at is the Reality of Christ’s Death. It’s now Thursday night. Jesus has just finished having dinner with his closest followers. The camera zooms in to capture the resolve on the face of Jesus and the look of fear and confusion on the faces of his disciples. Jesus announces that one of his dinner guests, one of his closest friends, is about to betray Him. The camera follows Jesus now as He goes into a garden to pray. He’s praying fervently as He sweats drops of blood on the rocks in front of Him. When He’s done, He looks up to see a crowd armed with swords and clubs coming to arrest Him.

The camera now starts to bounce up and down in the commotion. Jesus is rushed to a makeshift trial and condemned to die. Some begin to spit on Him. Others blindfold Him and hit Him with their fists; asking Jesus to guess who it is that is hitting Him. The guards then take Him and beat Him some more.

Early on Friday morning, the religious leaders reach a decision to send Jesus to a governor named Pilate. Pilate is hesitant to do anything to Jesus, but gives in to the clamor of the crowd. The camera again shows the mob of people, now agitated and screaming, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

Jesus is then taken by the soldiers, stripped of His clothes, and tied to a wooden pole where he is beaten with a whip -- sharp jagged pieces of bone and lead come crashing down on Jesus with every stroke. The soldiers take turns lashing his bare back with the whip, tearing into the flesh with every hit.

Jesus is now bleeding profusely with multiple lacerations exposing muscles, ligaments, and blood vessels. One of the soldiers takes off his purple cloak and puts it over Jesus’ shoulders. Another quickly puts together a crown of sharp thorns to mimic the wreath that Caesar wore and jams it onto his head -- the thorns are as sharp and as sturdy as spikes. The camera graphically shows the blood running down his head to mingle with the blood that already covers the rest of His body.

But, the soldiers aren’t finished yet. Next they place a reed in his right hand to look like a scepter and even kneel down before Him to mock Him as king -- as they get up from kneeling, they spit at Him in His face. Someone then grabs the scepter and begins to beat Him on the head; others beat Him in the face with their fists.

All this took place before 8:00 Friday morning! But, things were going to get much worse. It was customary to make a prisoner carry his own crossbar to the place of execution. But, since Jesus is so weak from the terrible beating, the soldiers grab someone out of the crowd to carry the 100 pound piece of timber the 1/2 mile or so to the execution site.

The guy running the camera is out in front of the crowd so he can capture the processional as they make their way to a hill outside Jerusalem. It’s a grim scene. Jesus is bloody and exhausted as he stumbles along the rough cobblestone.

They finally arrive at a place called Golgotha. The soldiers take off Jesus’ clothes and offer him something to numb the pain but he refuses. He’s fully conscious as they throw Him to the ground and position Him on the cross. A 5-7” spike is nailed through each of his wrists -- the man running the camera has to turn away. His feet are then crossed and a spike is driven through them. The cross is raised by at least 4 soldiers and positioned in the right place.

The callous soldiers sit down, indifferent to what is going on -- they had seen all this before. They throw some dice to see who gets to keep Jesus’ clothes. This first clip ends as the camera records people insulting Christ and making fun of Him while He hangs on the cross.

Clip #2: The Results of His Death

The first clip depicts the Reality of His death. The second clip shows two Results of His death.

The Bible records two incidents that happened when Jesus died. The first is a sound bite that Jesus utters from the cross. He’s been on the cross for about six hours now. The soldiers have been assigned to keep watch. Just before Jesus dies, He cries out in John 19:30, “It is Finished!”