I have been thinking a lot lately on the crucifixion of Christ. He was beaten, had to carry His own cross, mocked as being King of the Jews, had a crown of thorns placed on His head, spit on and given gall mixed with vinegar to drink while on the cross (John 19:1-3). Our Lord was mistreated and humiliated for all the world. His death on the cross was so all could have the forgiveness of sins and the reward of a heavenly home. Christ was perfect, but He took our sins with Him to the cross (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5).
The scourging was not just a normal beating. When an individual was to be scourged, he was stripped of all his clothing; he was completely naked. This way, his entire flesh was exposed and entirely uncovered for the beating. The victim was bound to a two-foot-high scourging post. The person’s hands were tied over his head to a metal ring, and his wrists were shackled to the metal ring to keep the body from moving during the scourging. Our Lord would have been a bloody mess after the beating. Do you think the enemies of our Savior took time to clean the blood from His body before making Him carry His cross to the Place of the Skull, also known as Golgotha? I doubt this very seriously.
It was predicted in Isaiah that no bones of Jesus would be broken (Psalm 34:20; John 19:46). Jesus was already dead when the soldiers came to break the bones in His legs (John 19:33). Instead of breaking His bones, a soldier pierced His side, and out came blood and water (John 19:34). Breaking the leg bones would cause a faster death because one could not push up to draw a breath; thus, victims would suffocate. It was a law that there could not be any hangings on the Sabbath day, so the Romans hastened the death of those crucified preceding the Sabbath.
Remember, the blood of Christ went both directions from the cross. It goes all the way back to the beginning in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve. The blood also goes forward to the end of time when the Lord returns to take His people to their home in Heaven. In the Old Testament, sins were rolled ahead for one year at a time by the blood of bulls and goats (Hebrews 10:1-4). Their sins were not fully forgiven until the death of Christ on the cross (Hebrews 9:12).
Now, let us consider that Jesus is our brother, if we have put Him on in baptism (Galatians 3:27). Therefore, we are family. How do you treat your family; are you kind or mean? Daily, we crucify our Lord, our brother, by sinning (Hebrews 6:6). Sometimes, we do not know we have sinned. Those in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats were divided (Matthew 25:31-46). The goats did not know they had sinned by not helping Jesus, because they did not see Him. Jesus told them that by not helping those in need, they had not done what they should have done. What about us? Do we look at others and do not pay attention to those in need; do we just go on our way?
Other times, we sin willfully. We make excuses for not attending church services. We might rationalize, “I am too tired,” but on Monday morning, tired or not, we go to work. Hebrews 10:26 says, “for if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.”
Each time we sin knowingly or unknowingly, we crucify our Lord and Savior. He gave His life for us. Why can we not do our best for Him?
