We condemned Him with our sins
After He prayed in the garden, for this cup to pass from Him, He submitted to the will of His father. He knew the only reasonable redemption of sin, was a once and for all sacrifice. A sinless sacrifice would be the only thing that would redeem the world from sin. And He was the only one that fit that description. You must remember, He became human, to dwell among us and to serve us. He felt every slap in the face, every time they plucked out his beard, and he also felt the scourge of the Roman whip. As with all things, the Romans refined and elevated the techniques of scourging as a form of punishment. One of the things the Romans did was attach pieces of metal, bone, wire or hardened clay to the strands of the whip so that it would rip open the skin. In Latin, the root words for “scourge” mean to “flay the flesh.” So in actually, if you were whipped with one of the Roman whips, (named a cat-o-nine-tails) you would receive nine lashes for every one, totaling 351 slices in the flesh if struck 39 times. They liked to stop just before the person died, so they wouldn’t cheated the crowd out of a good crucifixion. It was all a brutal and barbaric practice by the Romans.
The Jews knowing what was about to happen, called for the release of a murderer and chanted, crucify Him, when Pilate wanted to release Him. I guess you could call it a case of premeditated murder, they knew what would happen, but encouraged by the high priest, chanted the death warrant.
Here is what is hard to wrap your mind around, He did it willingly for us. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lay a rough wooden cross against a back that had just been flayed open that was raw, bleeding, and left the recipient of the beating near death. As He took on the sins of all eternity, the sky turned black, all over the world, not just where He was. Did you get the part about He did it willingly? He laid down His life willingly for us! Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. No greater love: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What would you do for a love like that? Would you accept it or reject it?
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Sunday, when Jesus conquered death and rose. He paid our sin debt and all we have to do is accept that gift in order to have eternal life. Easter represents the new beginning that Jesus gave us by raising from the dead. We serve a risen Saviour!
As parents we need to teach our children about the sacrifice Jesus made willingly for us. The consequences of not accepting that gift is eternal damnation. Give them all the facts so they can make a decision about their eternity.
We as authors often find ourselves making the crucifixion less gory that it really was. We like to keep thing neat and tidy, and to keep Him more glorious than human. But human is what He became in order to fulfill the prophecy of a Saviour. He felt every whip, slap, and tearing of His skin as it was hammered through. By keeping it real we can understand better why they call it the sacrifice of the sinless Lamb of God. Remember, He could have called 10,000 angels to catch Him up to heaven and not endure death, but He did it willingly for us!
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Matthew 27:26
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
John 19:1
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
Luke 23:44