We are in the beautiful season of Easter, but how often do we forget what that truly means? Yes, it means gathering together with your family and celebrating. Yes, it can mean having fun with Easter egg hunts and decorating. Lots of food and going to church together. But do we remember what we are celebrating? And if we do remember what we are celebrating, if we truly know what Easter or Resurrection Sunday is, why are we limiting our celebration to just one day?
Each year at this time, our family sits down and we watch Passion of the Christ. This movie is hard for me to watch because of the massive torture and horrible, excruciating pain that Christ went through, but remembering that He did that for me. For my sins. For every stupid, pitiful, ridiculous thing He took lashes and humiliation and hardship so that I could live free with Him. I often need that reminder.
But even watching that movie, and it is graphic, doesn’t give all the horror of what happened to Jesus on the cross. Whether you believe who He is or not, there is historical accounts of His crucifixion and if you are a believer, you should want to celebrate and be so unbelievably grateful every single day for what He did.
So here’s what happened:
Jesus was 33 years old when he was condemned to death. Crucifixion, at that time, was considered the worst death and only given to the most disreputable criminals. Jesus was not a criminal. In fact, Pontius Pilot didn’t want to order the crucifixion and instead ordered for Him to be flogged, thinking this would suffice the Jewish leaders that were wanting Him killed.
Jesus then endured a whipping and beating that was so severe it ripped the flesh right off His body. After that, they pulled out His beard. Then, to further humiliate Him, they twisted thorns into a crown and pushed it into His scalp.
But this wasn’t enough. Dripping with blood, tuffs of his beard torn out, barely able to walk from the beating, and a crown pierced into His head, they still insisted He deserved the cross.
Jesus then was forced to carry His own cross to the site all while people spat in His face and threw stones and Him. Once they arrived to the spot, (which a historian in Jerusalem told my father-in-law of the traditional crucifixion process), just outside the city on the way in, they would set up the cross near eye level to those walking by (not high like has been portrayed in movies) so those coming into the city would see them. And those on the crosses would be stripped naked so they could be further humiliated.
With Jesus, He was nailed to the cross by His hands and His feet and each nail was 6-8 inches long.
The nails were driven into His wrist, as the Roman guards knew that the nail would break a tendon that connected to His shoulder and it would force Jesus to use His back muscles to support Himself so He didn’t suffocate. His feet were nailed together by one nail, causing Him to not be able to support Himself fully on His legs because of the pain that would endure. He was forced to go back and forth between arching his back and His legs just to breath. And remember that His back was torn to shreds from the beating, so the wood of the cross would continually be rubbing into the wounds each time He did this.
Can you imagine?
The pain, the torture, the suffering. The amount of courage knowing that He was doing this so that we may live with Him one day. Taking all our sin on that cross, when He could’ve easily called His angels and said, “Nope, this sucks. I’m out.”
But no. He didn’t do that. Because He loves you that much.
And He endured it for over 3 hours!
For further perspective, the human body contains 3.5 liters of blood. Just before Jesus breathed His last, He was simply pouring out water from His many extensive wounds. He quite literally poured out all of His blood on the cross.
For me.
For you.
Jesus endured all of this so that we can have free access to God. He ripped the curtain that was keeping us from Him so that our sins can be completely washed away. We don’t have to pay for our own sins at the end of our life because Jesus already took care of it by suffering in the most brutal way possible!
As we sit down this Easter with our family, let’s remember this incredible sacrifice that Christ made on that cross. Let’s remember that amazing love and most of all, let’s remember that this goes beyond just one day. We should remember this every day and be eternally grateful.
angelaschmeling 