The method of crucifixion is one of the most brutal execution styles the Romans had during the time of Christ. Once the person’s hands and feet were nailed to the wood of the cross and they were raised into the air and mounted in the earth; the rest of their life would literally be spent gasping for air as they fought not to suffocate. With their legs and feet they would push their body up on the cross to breathe, for if they relaxed in any way or their legs lost the strength to keep pushing them up…then quickly the their chests would become tight and oxygen would be cut off to their lungs. This process sometimes took hours…sometimes days. If it took longer than the executioners would have liked, than large mallets would be used to break the femur bones in a person’s legs so they no longer could use them. The whole process is agony and pain…struggle and the fight for strength to have one more breath.
Jesus went through this.
And this was after the punches and kicks He had already taken…this was after the humiliation of being mocked and spit on…this was after having the flesh ripped from his back strip by strip by a multi tailed whip called, “cat o’ nine tails” that was imbedded with bone and glass…most people who were beat with these whips usually died before they ever even made it to the cross…but Jesus pushed on into the last phase before being crucified…and that was to carry His own cross up a hill to where He would ultimately be put to death.
When I take in all these things I find myself overwhelmed. That anyone would die this way for me and the whole world just blows my mind….but I also realize the story doesn’t end there…because Jesus is alive.
Yes, Christ was killed…but death could not hold Him.
We are saved because beyond the brutality of His death lives the beautiful and glorious reality of His resurrection.
Sometimes I try to understand what the disciples must have felt when they saw Jesus perform miracles, cast out demons, or walk on water during the middle of a storm…you know it had to rock them at their core to see such things. But to witness Jesus resurrection…well that must have rocked them on a whole other level….and rightfully so.
Jesus told the world (even before He walked the earth those 33 years) that He would die for the sins of the world and offer man salvation. And He did it.
As I sit here this morning with this weight on my chest I wonder what I could possible do or say to thank Him for this gift? I grimace when I think about the times I’ve turned my back on Him or whined about my “experiences” since becoming a Christian. If we flip on God so easily can we really say we’re sharing in His suffering? No, I don’t think so.
I want to WANT TO serve and love God…we were all created to do so. When I think about the Lord…what He’s done for me…how He died…and how He beat death… it’s really not too much to ask…and it will be worth it all at the end of our journeys.
Thank you Jesus for your brutal yet beautiful death and resurrection…You are everything…and we live our lives for you.
“When we arrive at eternity’s shores…and death is just a memory and tears are no more. We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring…Your bride will come together and we’ll sing, “You’re beautiful”.
–Phil Wickham “Beautiful”
