Thought 108
The Crucifixion
(Selected Scriptural accounts: Matt. 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, & John 17-20)
The following is the author’s paraphrase of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ:
The only perfect man, Jesus, is willingly being beaten. They (the Roman soldiers) smack him with sticks and they yank out his beard . . . . Then they spit in his face. The Christ screams in agony! Inside, He must be constantly saying, “Not my will but yours be done, Father!” Then the whip! Crack!!! Smack!!! Jesus’ flesh is being ripped to shreds! And after his brutal whipping, the soldiers shove a crown of thorns into his skull.
Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!! He screams.
This afflicted man is the Messiah, Christ the King! And as if His beating was not enough, they continued:
“Ha! Ha!” mock the soldiers. They now make Jesus, God in the form of a man, who has just been beaten, scourged, spit upon, and his back ripped to shreds; carry His cross to Golgotha. As Jesus stumbles, weakened by His beatings, the soldiers grab a business man from the crowd and force him to help Jesus carry the cross. . . slowly, they go on . . . . when they make it to the hill where Christ will be crucified, they take His cross and assemble it. Then . . . . BANG!!! Can you hear it? The soldiers drive nails through Christ’s feet and hands. Blood shoots out of Christ hands as the nails are driven through His flesh. Then the soldiers hoist up the cross, with the freshly nailed Messiah attached, and drop it into a hole so that Jesus will slowly die vertically, for all to see.
As Christ hangs on that tree, that cross, that piece of wood that He created in the beginning, He is forsaken by His Father because of your sin that He bore. The spotless lamb, Jesus, took the punishment for every sin ever committed! Christ now bearing the weight of all sin of the murder, the rapist, the serial killer, the guy who made a mistake, the unwed dad, the greatest thief, the adulterer, the adulteress, the luster, the conformer, the compromiser, the Scripture-twister, the drunkard, the mocker, the scoffer, the fornicator, the pervert, the self-righteous, the heartless one, the one disobedient to his parents, the woman who had an abortion, the doctor that “performed” the abortion, the false witness, the hypocrite, the liar – do you want me to go on? . . . . He died for You!
Christ died for you. And the sin of you and I nailed CHRIST to that tree: everyone, even the sweetest people, rejected Him—nailing Him there—yet He died for them all while they were still sinners who hated Him. Because He died in your place, bearing the punishment for all sin, you can be forgiven from all your sins. All you have to do is accept the gift of eternal salvation that Christ offers you. He DIED for YOU.
Here’s how to accept His sacrifice:
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:9-11 NIV
Rest assured that you are now forgiven: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NIV
Now, live for the Lamb’s Glory! Seek Him through prayer, godly counsel, and His Word and your relationship with Him will grow.
