Monday and the coffee today is Door County Peanut Butter Crunch.
What did the cross do to Jesus?
As we venture through Lent and some of us have given up a treat or two to prepare for Easter, I think it is important to study the crucifixion process. This is the pain that Jesus endured for our sins and for the provision of forgiveness. We look forward to celebrating the resurrection day which is utmost to the faith of Christians everywhere. But in order to resurrect, Jesus had suffer and die. This brief exploration into the process should help us grow in appreciation of the price paid.
Hung completely naked before the crowd, the pain and damage caused by crucifixion were designed to be so devilishly intense that one would continually long for death, but could linger for days with no relief.
According to Dr. Frederick Zugibe, piercing of the median nerve of the hands with a nail can cause pain so incredible that even morphine won’t help, “severe, excruciating, burning pain, like lightning bolts traversing the arm into the spinal cord.” Rupturing the foot’s plantar nerve with a nail would have a similarly horrible effect.
Furthermore, the position of the body on a cross is designed to make it extremely difficult to breathe.
Frederick Farrar described the intended, torturous effect: “For indeed a death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of horrible and ghastly—dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus, shame, publicity of shame, long continuance of torment, horror of anticipation, mortification of untended wounds—all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the suffer the relief of unconsciousness.”
One doctor has called it “a symphony of pain” produced by every movement, with every breath; even a slight breeze on his skin could bring screaming pain at this point.
Medical examiner, Dr. Frederick Zugibe, believes Christ died from shock due to loss of blood and fluid, plus traumatic shock from his injuries, plus cardiogenic shock causing Christ’s heart to fail.
What did the cross do for us?
John 1:12-13
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
God bless,
Marty
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