By Rebecca Thackeray
Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.
Mark 15:24-28 NLT
What comes to mind when your attention is drawn to elaborate colourful tapestries or detailed sculpted statues within finely decorated churches? Or to the shiny delicate symbol of a cross elegantly worn around a person’s neck?
It is easy to avoid the reality of events due to the potential fear of becoming distressed or uncomfortable when exposed to them and their consequences. Sometimes, as Christians or even Western society as a whole, we choose to ‘sugar coat’ certain topics or to give a disclaimer to avoid causing upset when the truth is exposed. We offer the ‘child-friendly’ version of the story and keep things PG-rated. However, it is hard to apply rose-tinted glasses to the story of the Crucifixion. Telling the story with a filter doesn’t take away from the truth of what it is, but it can take away the reality and impact of the truth.
So, what is the reality?
The Crucifixion was adopted by the Romans as their form of capital punishment. It is a process where criminals are tied or nailed to a shaft of wood and lifted up off the ground, forming a cross shape. A sign would be placed above their head detailing the crime they were guilty of. Slowly, death would occur from a combination of asphyxiation from the body being strained under its own weight, and constrained blood circulation resulting in organ failure.
This was the reality for Jesus, the son of God, the sinless and perfect One. By a dear friend, He was betrayed and handed over to the officials. By the council, He was blindfolded, beaten and mocked. By the crowd, made up of God’s chosen people, He was rejected and a criminal named Barrabas was chosen to be freed instead of Him, with the shouts of ‘crucify Him, crucify Him!’ echoing amongst them.
Beaten, mocked and ridiculed, He was then nailed to a cross on the hill of Golgotha, with two guilty criminals on either side of him, and the ongoing shouts from the soldiers and rulers, saying, ‘if you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.’ (Luke 23:37).
As Jesus was painfully straining Himself under His weight, trying to catch some sort of breath, He asked the Father to forgive these people, the people who were oblivious to what was taking place, as God proved His love for His people, ‘while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Romans 5:8). This was an event that should have brought back familiar sounding notes from prophecies including Isaiah 53:5, ‘He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities’. Still, the people were blinded by themselves.
As the sun failed to shine, darkness fell, and with Jesus’s last breath, He cried out, ‘Father, into your hand I commit my spirit’ (Luke 23:46). The earth shook, rocks split open, the veil in Herod’s temple tore from top to bottom, tombs were opened, and bodies were raised! It was only then, the reality of what had happened sunk in. A centurion gasped, confessing, ‘Certainly this man was innocent’. The crowd, on the other hand, dispersed, beating their chests with repentance.
Bearing the brutal punishment for His people, God’s wrath was poured onto his own Son Jesus. This is the reality.
Ask: How did Jesus respond to what was happening to Him?
Seek: What is your response to the crucifixion? Do you associate yourself with anyone in the text?
Knock: Heavenly Father, we come before you asking you to forgive us where we have been ignorant or blind to the truth. Thank you that you sent your son Jesus to die in our place. And we ask that the reality of the death of our Lord Jesus may soften our hearts and cause us to worship you in response.
(Upper Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash)
