“And they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha
(which means Skull Place
No one ever
suffered like Jesus. “They crucified
Him…they crucified Him…” such simple vocabulary conveying immeasurable agony.
And He did it all for you and for me.
Through the
time machine called the Bible, we can take a trip back two thousand years ago,
to a hill shaped like a skull, located outside the city walls of Jerusalem
Those
sufferings have been building to a crescendo, starting in the olive garden
where Jesus shouldered the sins of the world, took the bitter cup and drained
it to the last drop, all the while agonizing in prayer until the blood oozed
from the pores of His skin. Then He was
roughed up by the thugs that took Him in Gethsemane
and Jesus was beaten, with His beard plucked out, as He was hustled from trial
to trial during that long sleepless night before being sentenced to death. The pinnacle of pain would explode on Him, as
He was crucified.
That dark
day of death was one of suffering from start to finish and it began with THE SCOURGE.
“Then, willing
to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus
flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:15)
The scourge
consisted of nine long leather thongs, and at the end of each there would be a
piece of bone or metal. The Romans had
perfected the use of the scourge, and a strong soldier would strip the clothes
from the victim’s back, bend him over and tie him down with back exposed. Then the scourge would whistle through the
air and snap on the victim—the scourge being jerked back ripping flesh and
sinew and even exposing the bone. Blood
would fly and spatter everywhere as skin would hang in tatters. It was so horrible that some died from the
scourging before they were nailed to the cross.
Thirty-nine times the scourge would have been brought down on His back—again
and again and again.
No one ever
suffered like Jesus—and it wasn’t over.
From the scourge, there was THE
SCORN.
“Then the
soldiers led Him away into the courtyard (that is, headquarters) and called the
whole company together. They dressed Him
in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and put it on Him. And they began to salute Him, ‘Hail, King of
the Jews!’ They kept hitting Him on the head with a reed and spitting on Him. Getting down on their knees, they were paying
Him homage. When they had mocked Him,
they stripped Him of the purple robe, put His clothes on Him, and led Him out
to crucify Him.
They forced a
man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’ cross. He was Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of
Alexander and Rufus. And they brought
Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which
means Skull Place
“Those who
passed by were yelling insults at Him, shaking their heads, and saying, ‘Ha!
The One who would demolish the sanctuary and build it in three days, save
Yourself by coming down from the cross!‘
In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes were mocking Him to
one another and saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself! Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down
now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.’ Even those who were crucified with Him were
taunting Him.” (Mark 15:29-32)
From the road to Calvary
and from beneath the cross, there was the mocking, scoffing, cursing and
spittle heaped upon the Savior. We have
heard, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm
me.” That isn’t true! If you have ever been falsely accused,
unjustly criticized, have been the brunt of jokes or object of scorn, then you
know the sting that goes deeper than the skin and stabs the soul!
Here is Jesus—and all He ever did
was speak in love and they speak in hate; He expressed compassion and they
exclaim criticism; they call upon Jesus to save Himself—they very thing they
cannot do if He is to save them.
But, there was also a physical
dimension to this scorn—the soldiers played a game called the “King’s Game.” Long desert thorns were thrust as a crown
into His head and driven with rods down into His tender flesh—like hammering
nails into a piece of wood. They
anointed the King with spit. His face no
longer resembled the face of a man, so disfigured was He—puffed eyes swollen
into slits, a broken nose splayed all over His face, teeth knocked out. In mockery they bowed to this “King.” They thought, “What a joke!”
This led to THE SHAME.
“Then they
crucified Him and divided His clothes, casting lots for them to decide what
each would get.” (v.24)
Think about
how the rough garment they had thrown over His lacerated back, would stick to
the coagulated blood. Then they jerked
those clothes off, and reopened the wounds bringing a fresh wave of pain.
Here was
this Holy Man who had never sinned nor enticed any other to sin. His life had been marked by moral purity and
utter modesty. Now, they strip Him virtually, or perhaps entirely naked—the
scandal! The shame!
They will hoist
Him up on a cross—a spectacle to the world, for sinners to gawk and mock. What shameful treatment He received! And those who took the rags He called
clothes—the simple garment of a peasant—gambled for His clothes at the foot of
the cross, oblivious to the suffering of the One nailed above them.
This brings
me to my next point—the suffering from THE
SPIKES.
“Now it was nine in the morning when
they crucified Him. The inscription of
the charge written against Him was: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
They crucified
two criminals with Him, one on His right and one on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And
He was counted among outlaws.” (Mark 15:25-28)
Crucifixion was reserved for the
worst of criminals—designed as a deterrent for those who were enemies of the
state. This was the “legal”
justification for Christ’s execution—that He had rivaled the authority of
Caesar by making Himself “The King of the Jews.”
They would have hurtled His bloody
back atop that rough-hewn cross.
Stretching out His feet and hands, the sharp spikes were driven into His
ankles and wrists. Then He was raised
into the air, the cross dropping into its socket with a thunderclap—searing
waves of pain emanating from His hands and feet—the muscles stretched and
cramping—all His weight now held by the spikes and the only way He could
breathe was to push up from those pierced feet and pull up by the nails in His
wrists!
This would continue until a victim
could summon no more strength to rise and then the fluid would collect and the
tortured one would drown in his bodily fluids.
Sometimes a victim could last for days if he were strong enough. That’s why the authorities broke the legs of
the thieves. The Sabbath was coming, and
they would not be allowed to remain on their crosses, so they would thus hasten
their demise. They did not break the
Lord’s legs, however, the type of Jesus as the Passover Lamb preserved. He had said that no one took His life from
Him, but that He would voluntarily surrender it.
No one ever suffered like Jesus—but
the worst was THE SEPARATION.
“When it was noon, darkness came over the
whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice,
‘Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have
You forsaken Me?’
When some of
those standing there heard this, they said, ‘Look, He’s calling for Elijah!’ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour
wine, fixed it on a reed, offered Him a drink, and said, ‘Let’s see if Elijah
comes to take Him down!’
But Jesus let
out a loud cry and breathed His last. Then
the curtain of the sanctuary was split in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing opposite
Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘This man really was God’s Son!’”
(Mark 15:33-37)
While it is difficult to imagine the
nature of the physical pain, we can somewhat, for we have suffered physically,
even though none of us have ever suffered the agony of crucifixion. But this pain is something we have never
known—and cannot know. To get a glimmer
of understanding would require going to hell.
A man did, and here is his story:
“There was a rich man who would dress in
purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with
sores, was left at his gate. He longed
to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs
would come and lick his sores. One day
the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side.
The rich man
also died and was buried. And being in
torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at
his side. ‘Father Abraham! ’ he called
out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’
‘Son,’ Abraham
said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things just as
Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in
agony. Besides all this, a great chasm
has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from
here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’
‘Father,’ he
said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house — because I have five
brothers — to warn them, so they won’t also come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham
said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’
‘No, father
Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will
repent.’
But he told
him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be
persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)
That is horrible to contemplate, yet
it was worse—infinitely worse—for Jesus.
The rich man knew he deserved hell,
while Jesus did not. The rich man
suffered for his own sins, but Jesus died for the sins of the world—He bore all
the hell for all the people for all the sins of all time!
No wonder creation closed its eyes,
“When
it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.”
(v.33)
“Well might the sun in darkness hide
and shut its glories in; when Christ the mighty Maker died for man the
creature’s sin.” (Isaac Watts)
He was excluded that I might be included.
He endured my Hell that I might enter His Heaven.
How? What must I do to be saved?
The Bible promises, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
That’s it? What if I
am a horrible person, guilty of heinous sins?
“Then one of
the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him: ‘Aren’t You the
Messiah? Save Yourself and us!’
But the other
answered, rebuking him: ‘Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the
same punishment? We are punished justly,
because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man
has done nothing wrong.’
Then he said, ‘Jesus,
remember me when You come into Your kingdom!’
And He said to
him, ‘I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.’ (Luke 23:39-43)
What about
someone that would oversee the brutalizing treatment of Jesus?
“When the
centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he
said, ‘This man really was God’s Son!’” (Mark 15:39)
He was, He is, He shall ever be, God’s
Son, our Savior—if you call on Him.
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