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Sacrifices
It's horrible to think of the suffering that Jesus experienced while
dying on the cross. To me, six minutes of pain can be unbearable.
However Jesus was on the cross for approximately six hours.
Even before Jesus was nailed to the cross, he had to endure a
great amount of pain and suffering. John 19:1 says, “Then Pilate took
Jesus and scourged Him.” I didn’t realize what scourging entailed until
a couple of years ago. After researching the subject, I learned that
some believe the act of scourging could have been more of a torturous
process than crucifixion itself. History and tradition tell us that the
condemned was stripped of their clothing and tied to a post. A pair of
soldiers (sometimes just one acting alone) took turns whipping the area
between the neck and thighs.
A “cat of nine tails” was used in place of a regular whip. This
torture device had several strands that came out from the trunk of the
whip itself. Each strand had chunks of metal, bone, or other materials
that would gouge deep into the skin. Forty lashes were supposed to be
delivered to the prisoner, but due to the fear of miscounting and going
over the maximum, whippings were usually limited to 39 lashes. The
brutality of the whipping was such that skin was torn from the body.
Bones could be exposed through the muscle and skin. Veins and arteries
could be punctured or torn. Such extreme punishment left the recipient
in shock; sometimes with such blood loss that the prisoner died just
from scourging alone. Jesus had to endure that whole process and then
try to gather enough energy to carry his cross to his site of execution.
When placed on the cross, huge nails (likely 6-7" in length and
1/4" in diameter) were driven into his hands and feet. His body was most
likely put into a position that made breathing all but impossible. Each
time He needed to take in a breath, He had to lift himself up so that
his lungs could fill with air. Doing this placed tremendous pressure on
the wounds in the hands and feet but also scraped his back against the
rough wood of the cross. The nails in the hands/wrists could have
possibly pierced the median nerves. If this was the case, waves of
sharp, fiery pain would run continuously through the arms. The arm
muscles would fatigue and spasm from a combination of pressure from the
nails and the position of the body. This experience would go on for
hours and hours.
The past several paragraphs have been a lengthy prelude to the
following statement and question: Jesus went through hours of pain and
suffering to make His body a living sacrifice for us. What sacrifices
have we made for Him?
The chances are that we will never have to experience what the
early apostles went through for the cause of Christ. But just because we
are not persecuted in the same way today, we are still faced with our
own minor persecutions. Will we make our own sacrifices for Jesus’ sake?
When faced with someone telling off-color jokes at work or school, will
we laugh? Will we be ashamed to give thanks for food in a public place
for fear of criticism? Will we take time out of our day to read the
Bible or to do our Bible lesson in preparation for class?
The thought that Jesus is watching us as we turn our backs to Him
and walk away is hard to swallow. He made such a huge sacrifice for us
so that we can reach God in prayer, have forgiveness of sins, and have
hope of eternal life in Heaven. Again I ask: What sacrifices do we make
for Him?
--Brent Lykins
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