Crucifixion was the most horrible death that took place at
that time, it was meant for the vilest of criminals, a shameful death and those
who were hung on a tree were considered cursed and outcasts, the scum of the
earth not worthy of life, mercy or grace. The beatings that took place before the actual
crucifixion brought about excruciating pain and suffering and loss of blood
with skin being torn from the body from being whipped to the point that Jesus
couldn’t carry His own cross. Jesus was slapped
by many men and spit upon and mocked and scorned and had a crown of briars pushed
forcibly on his head. This all happened before
He was nailed to the cross and all this was done in the name of justice. Think of this, Jesus knew the suffering He
would experience but even knowing all this He humbled himself and became a suffering
servant for all who would believe.
It says this in Luke 22:39-44, “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and
His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray
that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He was withdrawn from them about a
stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your
will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’
Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in
agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of
blood falling down to the ground.”
It says this about Jesus in Isaiah 53:1-12:
“Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.”
Let me ask you the question again; what does the death of
Jesus mean to you? When the death of
Jesus was taking place there were sad people there and also people that were glad
and probably some that were just bystanders that didn’t care one way or the other,
which one of these are you? When you
think of Christ’s death, do you rejoice knowing the reason that He died or are
you still mocking Him or do you still have an indifferent attitude towards Him?
Let me explain something to you, I
believe that someday we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to
give an account of our life and the books will be opened and if your name is not
found there you will be ushered out of the presence of the Lord into a place where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth forever, which is the second death.
This is not the Lord’s will for your life, but will be a
place of your own choosing because when you had the opportunity to receive the
Lord Jesus you refused.
If your sadness over the suffering that Jesus experienced
has turned to joy because you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are
being transformed, you will forever be with the Lord.
Jesus said this in John 3:13-18, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that
is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in
Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because
he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The invitation is there, the choice is yours, no one can
make it for you. All I can do is point
you in the right direction and pray for you, the rest is your call. Something to think about, God bless and have a
great day!!
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