Have you ever been stressed or anxious about something so much that it has affected your health? Maybe your blood pressure was up, or you felt nauseous or had headaches?
He was 100% God and 100% Man. No, he was not anxious about what was to come, he knew exactly what would happen. He was however grieved, and his heart was heavy for what he was facing. It started earlier in the week. On Monday we know that he wept for Jerusalem and its people. On Tuesday he delivered his powerful Sermon on the Mount. By Thursday he was back in the city and celebrating the Passover meal at sundown. During this evening it begins. One of his own deserts him and he explains to the remaining what is about to occur, but they are confused. He goes to the quiet space of the Garden to pray to the Father. Heavy with the physical suffering he was to endure but more importantly the spiritual burden of having every sin of every person placed upon him which would cut him off from fellowship with the Father. Mine. All my wrong doings. Every time I sin. He saw me and he saw you. We know the burden caused him to sweat profusely like it was blood dripping from him. Possibly even so much that the capillaries under his skin began to rupture and blood began to mix in. He was beginning to dehydrate.
Have you ever been let down by friends or family members? Disappointed in them, hurt by them?
He is perfectly obedient to the Father and what is to come. He looks for support from those closest to him only to find them sleeping. They have disappointed him and will do so many more times in the coming hours. I have disappointed him today and every day. Yet he encourages his followers to pray.
Have you ever been caught off guard by an accusation from a friend or coworker or maybe even a family member? Have you ever been pulled over for a traffic violation you felt certain you were innocent of?
Soldiers approach. He knows they are coming. He knows who is with them. A friend, a follower. His name is Judas. But it might as well have been Russ. Betrayed. By Judas, by me and by you. Taken away as a prisoner, he will not know freedom again until his purpose is accomplished. He has been up for over 24 hours now. He is weary and dehydrated. It will get worse.
Have you ever been poked in the eye by accident? Ever had something or someone hit you in the nose? Ever fell and hit your mouth on something?
He is taken to a meeting with the High Priest. He knows that nothing he says will alter the course of events. It begins here. Physical abuse. Punched, slapped, and spat upon repeatedly. Only he is blindfolded. He can’t tell when or from where the next blow will come. No way to brace himself. By guards, grown men. No punches will be pulled tonight, only mocking fury. His face is now bloody and swollen with multiple bruises. He’s probably having difficulty seeing and speaking.
Have you ever been to a place where you get the run around? Try the office down the hall, take this form and go across the street. Come back tomorrow and speak to this person.
Weary and beaten he is shuffled between 6 different appearances as Friday dawns. The High Priest, the Sanhedrin twice, Herod and then Pilate twice. At the last meeting with Pilate those some souls he prayed for and wept over on Monday now turn on him and demand his death. A murderer is freed in his place. The emotional suffering continues.
Have you ever needed stitches for a cut? Perhaps suffered a broken bone or had to have major surgery?
Purposeful torture. The Flagrum or in Latin Scorpio gives a better picture. Romans were experts at torture and discipline needed to keep their sprawling empire in line. His weakened body would have easily been wounded. Lash after lash delivered by a professional soldier. Metallic balls are designed to bruise and act as a meat tenderizer. Metal fragments and shards of sheep bones are designed to rip and tear the flesh. The blood loss at the scourging post would have been massive. In his state vital organs such as lungs, kidneys and liver would be visible from the back at this point. Me. I did that. I caused every one of the painful strikes.
Have you ever been bullied, taunted, or made fun of?
As he is prepared for the Crucifixion, the soldiers continue to enjoy their assignment. They place a purple robe around him. They fashion a crown of large, dense thorns and then hammer it into his skull so it would not fall off. The scalp is rich in blood vessels. The flow of quickly depleting blood now covers his face and drips to his shoulders. Me. I hammered those painful thorns upon his head. They laugh and taunt him, and they rip off the cloth robe. The robe had by this time begun to adhere to the massive open wounds. Pain and fresh blood would be forthcoming again.
The end is near. He has been without sleep for well over 30 hours now. Nothing to eat or drink. His vital organs are in shock and already beginning to shut down. He is forced to carry the instrument of his death. Likely not the full cross as often depicted. Executions were done regularly. The upright posts were most likely left in place and only the horizontal member or Patibulum which weighed over 100 pounds would be carried. Depending on the exact location this journey was probably over ½ mile.
Have you ever had a staple or tack stuck in your finger? Have you had severe muscle spasms, cramps or ‘Charlie Horses”?
Exhausted mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually he arrives at the place of the skull. He is slammed down onto the rough and splintered wood likely stained with the blood of previous executions. Hand wrought iron spikes are driven through his wrists between the two bones, the Radia and the Ulna. This location is specific as it needs to support his weight. Then most likely the same type of spikes are driven, one in each foot, through the arch area, knees slightly bent. He is offered a drink solution to dull the pain, but he declines. He is now “Crucified.” By me, by my sins.
As the cross is raised, his body weight now rests on the spikes holding his arms and legs. This begins to put pressure on the median nerves of the feet and legs as well as the arms. This causes enormous nerve pain. He tries to pull himself up to alleviate the nerve pain, but his dehydrated and compromised muscles rebel and he finds himself in a torturous cycle of spasms and cramping. This continues for some time. Eventually the pectoral and intercostal muscles of his chest stop functioning. This means he can draw in short breaths but with no functioning chest wall he cannot exhale. Carbon Dioxide begins to build in his bloodstream.
For 6 hours this goes on. He is dying. Because of me. Painfully. But even then, he is thinking of me and sees me in his infinite view. He even asks the Father to forgive me because I helped place him there.
Another crushing blow. The Pericardium Sac around the heart begins to fill with serum. It begins to choke his heart. Psalm 22 told us that would happen. The compromised heart, the tortured lungs, the muscle spasms, the blood loss. Finally, his body can take no more. He cries out it is finished and asks the Father to receive his Spirit. He is dead. I have assisted the soldiers and am found guilty.
The day is ending, and Passover must not be defiled. Soldiers break the legs of the other 2 being crucified which means they cannot push themselves up to breath and soon suffocate. They come to him. He is already gone. But to be sure they pass a spear under his 5th rib which pierces the pericardium. Blood and water flow out. He has died of heart failure, because of me.
It is done. He suffers no more. Events happen at the temple. There are earthquakes and storms. He is deserted by all his followers except a few who take his body and find a burial place.
But a burial place for HIM is not needed. As gruesome as his final hours were, his victory over death is even more glorious. It changes history. There is hope, there is a way. While he suffered and paid my debt, because HE LIVES, now I CAN LIVE!
Regular Guy Russ 