The whip the Roman soldiers use on Jesus has small iron balls and sharp pieces of sheep bones tied to it. Jesus is stripped of his clothing, and his hands are tied to an upright post. His back, buttocks, and legs are whipped either by one soldier or by two who alternate positions. The soldiers taunt their victim. As they repeatedly strike Jesus back with full force, the iron balls cause deep contusions, and the sheep bones cut into the skin and tissues. As the whipping continues, the lacerations tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss set the stage for circulatory shock. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that Jesus is near death, the beating is finally stopped. The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They throw a robe across his shoulders and place a stick in his hand for a scepter. They still need a crown to make their travesty complete. A small bundle of flexible branches covered with long thorns are plaited into the shape of a crown, and this is pressed into his scalp. Again there is copious bleeding (the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body). After mocking him and striking him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from his hand and strike him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into his scalp. Finally, when they tire of their sadistic sport, the robe is torn from his back. The robe had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal-just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage-causes excruciating pain, almost as though he were being whipped again. The wounds again begin to bleed. In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return his garments. The heavy horizontal beam of the cross is tied across his shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution party walk along the Via Dolorosa. In spite of his efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650-yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed. Jesus is again stripped of his clothes except for a loin- cloth that is allowed the Jews. The crucifixion begins. Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild pain-killing mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the cross beam on the ground, and Jesus is quickly thrown backward with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tight, but to allow some flexibility and movement. The beam is then lifted, and the title reading Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews is nailed in place. The victim Jesus is now crucified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain-the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places his full weight on the nail through his feet. Again, there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed, and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs but it cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the bloodstream, and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen. It is undoubtedly during these periods that he utters the seven short sentences that are recorded. Now begin hours of this limitless pain, cycles of cramping and twisting, partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins. A deep, crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over- the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain. His mission of atonement has been completed. Finally he can allow his body to die. With one last surge of strength, he once again presses his torn feet against the nail, straightens his legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters his seventh and last cry: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Jesus went through all of that so you and I could be reconciled to him; so you and I could be saved from our sins by affirming, Father, into your hands I commit my life. Scripture References: Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-21:25. Resurrection of Jesus Christ: After Jesus was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea had Christs body placed in his own tomb. A large stone covered the entrance and soldiers guarded the sealed tomb. On the third day, a Sunday, several women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna and Salome are all mentioned in the gospel accounts) went to the tomb at dawn to anoint the body of Jesus. A violent earthquake took place as an angel from heaven rolled back the stone. The guards shook in fear as the angel, dressed in bright white, sat upon the stone. The angel announced to the women that Jesus who was crucified was no longer in the tomb, He is risen, just as he said. Then he instructed the women to inspect the tomb and see for themselves. Next he told them to go inform the disciples. With a mixture of fear and joy they ran to obey the angels command, but suddenly Jesus met them on their way. They fell at his feet and worshiped him. Jesus then said to them, Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me. When the guards reported what had happened to the chief priests, they bribed the soldiers with a large sum of money, telling them to lie and say that the disciples had stolen the body in the night. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the women near the tomb and later at least twice to the disciples while they were gathered at a house in prayer. He visited two of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and he also appeared at the Sea of Galilee while several of the disciples were fishing. Points of Interest from the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Story: • There are at least 12 different appearances of Christ in the resurrection accounts, beginning with Mary and ending with Paul. They were physical, tangible experiences with Christ eating, speaking and allowing himself to be touched. • Jesus resurrected body was different from his physical body. It was no longer subject to the same laws of nature. He could transcend locked doors, and yet he could still be touched and he could eat. • Before Jesus ascended into heaven he gave the Great Commission, telling his followers to go and make disciples of all nations. • The stone was not rolled away from the tomb so Jesus could get out. He was able to walk through walls (John 20:19) in his resurrected body. The stone was rolled away so that everyone could see that he was risen. Question for Reflection About the Resurrection of Jesus Christ:: When Jesus appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they didnt recognize him (Luke 24:13-33). They even talked in great length about Jesus, but they didnt know they were in his very presence. Has Jesus, the resurrected Savior visited you, but you didnt recognize him????? Please my friends choose Jesus Christ. You can receive Christ right now. Remember that Jesus says, Im standing at the door and Im knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in. Would you like to respond to his invitation? Heres how. If you dont know Jesus as your personal Savior just pray this simple pray and you will be saved The precise words you use to commit yourself to God are not important. He knows the intentions of your heart. If you are unsure of what to pray, this might help you put it into words: Jesus, I want to know you. I want you to come into my life. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin so that I could be fully accepted by you. Only you can give me the power to change and become the person you created me to be. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life with God. I give my life to you. Please do with it as you wish. Amen. If you sincerely asked Jesus into your life just now, then he has come into your life as he promised. You have begun a personal relationship with God. What follows is a lifelong journey of change and growth as you get to know God better through Bible reading, prayer and interaction with other Christians. If you received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior today, comment Jesus is Lord to tell people that you just accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior!!!Dont be ashamed !!! OR, to talk to someone on the phone about Jesus Call 1-800-NEED-HIM (1-800-633-3446) To talk to someone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Confess that you are a sinner. Ask God for forgiveness. Believe that Jesus Christ took upon Himself the punishment you deserved and died in your place. Accept that sacrifice. Understand that your sins have been forgiven and washed away forever and that you are now a new creature in Him. Then turn from your sin, follow Him, and trust His Holy Spirit to give you the power to do so. Read your Bible regularly to mature in your faith. And find a Bible-believing church where you can benefit from good teaching and fellowship with fellow believers. Also Jesus calls us to be baptized to make a public confession of receiving Him as our personal Savior. Please share if you would like. Jesus is coming soon my friends, so please if you wanna live for Jesus do it now!!! If you wanna tell your friends about Jesus then tell them today!!! Jesus is coming to take his children home soon and then tribulation begins... Spread the Gospel!!! Please give your lives to Jesus!! Its either Heaven or Hell... You choose.. If you dont know Jesus as your personal Savior please accept Him today... You may die tomorrow...Dont spend one more second of your life without Him. Pray the prayer above and cry out to Jesus before its to late...
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 09:39:10 +0000
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