In Galatians we read,
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” [Gal 4:4-5]
God’s sending forth of His Son Jesus to earth was by no accident. Long ago, God foretold through Isaiah the birth of Jesus, around 700 years in advance, saying, “therefore The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,” “which being interpreted is, ‘God with us.’” [Isa 7:14, Mt 1:23] In exact accordance with God’s plan, “when the fulness of the time was come,” when in the days that “there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered,” [Lk 2:1] Jesus was born. It was not a day sooner or later than desired: as Galatians states, it was “the fulness of the time.” Let us consider for a moment, just what “the fulness of the time” included; for surely, a man may think, that if this was the perfect time according to God, then all the circumstances would be just so, a pristine environment and occasion for the birth of history’s most important man, The Savior Christ Jesus. However, as it says in Corinthians, so it is fulfilled in this portion of Jesus’ life too: “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God;” and, “there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against The LORD.” [1 Cor 3:19, Prov 21:30] If mere men had written the script as it were, Jesus’ coming would have no doubt been drastically different, for it is even as The LORD says, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says The LORD.” [Isa 55:8] Therefore, let us consider just one point regarding this time period: crucifixion.
Jesus was born at a time period when crucifixion was the grossest capital punishment available, a torture not invented by but perfected by the Romans and used against the worst of criminals. Let us look briefly into this form of punishment, to gain a better understanding of Jesus’ physical torments leading up to and upon the cross. And may we, as we do such, consider that this was “the fulness of the time;” for in this truth, we see the majesty and wonder of God, who so loved sinners and the world, that He was willing to endure such a frightful and painful death.
In Isaiah, it is written of Jesus, being referred to as The LORD’s servant,
“Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were put to silence at you; His appearance was disfigured beyond that of a man, and the outline of His body beyond the sons of men.” [Isa 52:13-14]
Chiefly through flagellation, (which came before crucifixion), but also through the other violences performed against Jesus by the Pharisees and Romans, Jesus was grossly disfigured. Isaiah tells us that Jesus was so marred, so beaten, so scourged, that He was unrecognizable as a human being. He was but a bleeding, quivering lump of bloody flesh; the only way one might be able to tell He was human was by the faint outline He possessed of a man. The sufferings of Jesus were prolonged and severe, not to mention unjust. Luke records for us on the night Jesus was betrayed, writing,
“And [Jesus] was withdrawn from [His disciples] about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” [Lk 22:41-44]
Matthew records likewise, that in the garden Jesus “began to be severely grieved and very heavy;” [Mt 26:37] and Mark adds, “sore amazed,” a word meaning to be astonished out of one’s own senses. [Mk 14:33] These verses reveal to us the deep sorrow and grief Jesus was experiencing, but even so, they are but a glimpse, yes, the smallest portion of His physical sufferings. And though small in comparison of what was yet to come, even so they are severe, for most men can attest to the harsh and unrelenting pain a deep sorrow can cause. But let us see here a most important truth: Jesus was not afraid – for many a time God has said, yes, and Jesus too commanded, “fear not.” [Lk 12:32] And it is also written, “but the fearful, and unbelieving…shall have their part in the lake which is burning with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” [Rev 21:8] No, Jesus was not fearful; on the contrary, as the word “agony” can also signify “a struggle for victory,” we see that Jesus was striving against fear and anxiety, even to the point of bloodshed: as Hebrews tells us,
“For attentively consider [Jesus] who endured such opposition of sinners against Himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your souls. You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” [Heb 12:3-4]
In this word we see the implication: we, as men, have not striven against sin unto bloodshed, but Jesus has; therefore look unto Him for strength and encouragement to press on. But continuing in our former line of thinking, we do see Jesus here under such severe stress, that “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” There is in fact an explanation for such a phenomenon. Under extreme stress, the capillary blood vessels, which feed the sweat glands, can rupture, leaving the skin tender and fragile. Though this fact will be more pertinent later and help us to more fairly comprehend Jesus’ pains, even now it reveals to us the magnificent steadfastness of Jesus, who said through Isaiah regarding His physical sufferings, “for The LORD God will help me; therefore I shall not be confounded: therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” [Isa 50:7] For later in this chapter we shall learn more thoroughly of Jesus’ motivation and reason for dying, but let us quickly glimpse ahead and see that Jesus Christ’s sufferings were for our very own sins: as it is written, Jesus was “delivered [to death] for our offences;” and, “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” [Rom 4:25, Isa 53:6] And herein we see a glorious truth – that Jesus, though suffering for no wrongdoing of His own, yet endured in all the pains put upon Him, with joy, strength, and courage; for it is written that “for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross.” [Heb 12:2]
After praying in the garden, Jesus was arrested and brought to Annas and Caiaphas. During this time, many atrocities befell The Lord. Here, “they spit in His face and continually punched Him; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands.” [Mt 26:67] Mark specifies upon another fact as well, adding that “some began to…cover His face, and to punch Him, and to say unto Him, ‘prophecy:’ and the servants struck Him with the palms of their hands.” [Mk 14:65] The seriousness of these beatings are more fully grasped when taking into account that they “cover[ed] His face.” For the brain naturally accounts for blows by instinctively moving the body, the face, in the direction of the blow to reduce its effects. However, when a man is blindfolded so that he cannot see, as Jesus was, the full force of the punches and open-handed slaps across the face/ears are transferred to the face and neck. Remembering that Jesus was disfigured beyond the appearance of a man, we can infer that the brutality here was far beyond a few, simple punches, especially when we read from Isaiah a detail not found in the gospels, wherein Jesus speaks through the prophet, saying, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” [Isa 50:6] Jesus’ persecutors also ripped His beard out of His face.
After these events that Jesus was “led…into [the chief priests and scribe’s] council;” then “led…unto Pilate” and “sent…to Herod,” where “Herod with his men of war set Him at nought, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him again to Pilate.” [Lk 22:66; 23:1, 7, 11]
While in Pilate’s presence for the second time, Jesus was rejected by His people, who cried out, “let Him be crucified,” and then “scourged.” [Mt 27:22, 26, Mk 15:15, John 19:1] Scourging, or rather, Roman flagellation, is shocking and horrifying. Before expounding upon its methods, let us first take a few moments to remember three things. One, as we have already seen, the time that Jesus was born was “the fulness of the time.” It was the exact right time for Jesus to be born; if He had desired a less painful death, surely God could arrange such things. But The LORD waited until this form of torment was created, before sending Christ to die for our sins. It was “the fulness of the time.” Two, that Jesus’ skin is tender and fragile at this point from the night before, when His capillary blood vessels ruptured from stress. And three, a night has passed since Jesus’ arrest and He has not had sleep, further weakening His body. Let us consider what Jesus would have endured, then, in the scourging.
Roman flagellation was done with a short-handled whip, which consisted of a few, thick leather tongs, each weighted with lead balls on the end and sharp bits of bone, metal, or other sharp materials attached to the tongs. Using this instrument, the licitor would repeatedly strike the victim, here Jesus Christ, from the top of the back to the bottom of the thighs. Whereas Jewish punishment was limited to thirty-nine lashes, Roman punishment bore no such limits. Again, let us think upon the prophet Isaiah who spoke of Jesus’ condition after these things: “His appearance was disfigured beyond that of a man, and the outline of His body beyond the sons of men.” [Isa 52:14] During the execution of these events, it was not uncommon for the whip to lodge itself in the back of the victim, the licitor thus having to pull it out, bringing large chunks of flesh along with it. Moreover, the heavy weights on the whip would cause deep contusions and hemorrhaging; that is, bleeding from ruptured vessels and arteries. Throughout His torture, Jesus’ vital resistance, His body’s ability to fight and resist change, would significantly diminish, as His back and thighs were lacerated down to veins, muscles, and sinews. The sharp material of the whip would transform Jesus’ back into ribbons of quivering, bleeding flesh, reaching through the outer skin to underlying tissue, skeletal tissue, muscle, and even bowels. The Psalmist, speaking of this event, speaks of Jesus’ bones appearing, for he writes, “I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.” [Psa 22:17] These gruesome punishments would send Jesus’ body into hypovolemic shock – a condition where the heart is incapable of pumping sufficient blood to the body due to extreme blood/fluid loss. This would greatly increase Jesus’ heart rate and blood pressure would drop; the kidneys would stop producing urine; and Jesus would undergo extreme thirst, even as it was also prophesied,
“My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and you have brought me into the dust of death.” [Psa 22:14-15]
Following flagellation, Jesus entered the Praetorium, where “they…weaved together a crown of thorns, [and]…put it upon His head,” and then “took the reed, and smote Him on the head.” [Mt 27:29-30] This crown of thorns was placed upon Jesus’ head and then the thorns smote into His head by a reed-staff.
After these things, in His disfigured and near-death state, Jesus was led to Calvary/Golgotha, as it says, “and He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha.” [Jn 19:17] Just as Jesus exhorts His followers, “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,” [Mk 16:24] so here He reveals the deep meaning to such a call. In Jesus’ physical condition, carrying a nearly hundred-pound crossbeam of wood uphill, (for the beam could weigh as much, and the path to Calvary is uphill from Jerusalem), would be nearly impossible. And so it was, not being physically able, “they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian…and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.” [Lk 23:26] The physical strain upon Jesus in this exercise, His heart rate already being dramatically increased, His blood pressure low, and His breathing rapid and short, would demand yet more oxygen for the muscles and an even greater heart rate. The combination of these things and the great disparity between energy leaving Jesus’ body versus entering in/what it could generate, would result in hyperthermia: an abnormal, dangerously high body temperature. One symptom of such a high body temperature is vomiting; and as it is written, “[The LORD] has made Him sick.” [Isa 53:10]
Once at the hill, where Christ died and offered Himself up as an offering for sin, He was crucified. Crucifixion is such that Jesus would have been nailed to the cross; as it was prophesied, “they pierced my hands and my feet;” [Psa 22:16] and, “He was pierced for our transgressions.” [Isa 53:5] The nails used would have gone through the median nerve, specifically through a portion of Jesus’ wrist, causing extreme pain from the crushing/splitting of the nerve. Jesus’ feet would likewise be nailed to the cross, albeit in such a fashion as to leave His legs slightly bent. This was to allow the victim, here Jesus, to breathe. The Romans being exceedingly violent in this area of punishment, left the legs bent to increase the length of pain a man subject to crucifixion would have to endure, for the main way crucifixion killed was by suffocation. The legs being bent, would give the victim means to push up upon the nail and so breathe. This pushing up became necessary for when on the cross, the arms, apart from experiencing deep, throbbing cramps due to lack of oxygen, would stretch about six inches and the shoulders would become dislocated. In this state, the rib cage would become expanded due to the weight of the body pulling downward, thus locking the chest in a position of forced inhalation; meaning, that in order to breathe, the victims of the cross would be forced to push down upon the nail-pierced feet in order to gasp for breathe before sulking back down.
Regarding this fact about Jesus’ breathing, let us read what is written in the gospel, “and it was the third hour, and they crucified Him;” [Mk 15:25] and also that “at the ninth hour,” after exclaiming “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?,” [Mk 15:34, Psa 22:1] “Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.” [Mk 15:37] From this, we understand Jesus was upon the cross for six hours. Evidently, this was unusual, the victims usually suffering much longer; for when Pilate heard of Jesus’ death, He “marveled if He were already dead.” [Mk 15:44] Therefore, for six hours Jesus suffered upon the cross. If we are generous and say that even in His near-death state Jesus could hold His breath for thirty seconds, that means that 720 times Jesus had to push up on His nail-pierced feet to breath. 720 times He was forced to scrape His bloodied, nerve and vein-exposed back against the rough wood of the cross, opening and re-tearing His back. Jesus did not speak much on the cross, a testament in-and-of-itself to His glorious character, but in Luke Jesus is recorded upon the cross, speaking of His murderers, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” [Lk 23:34] In the Greek language which He spoke, the phrase encompasses seven words, and so seven times Jesus subjected His brutalized back and feet to increased pain as He uttered not curses but forgiveness. And so, after enduring six hours upon the cross, all things having been accomplished in the scriptures, it is written,
“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst.’ Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, ‘it is finished:’ and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” [Jn 19:28-30]
Dear reader, if you have seen the physical torments of Christ as horrific, see also that the spiritual torments, which we shall come to, far exceed that to which His body was subjected. That which Jesus endured physically, though brutal, is but a shadow of the deep, spiritual pains He suffered as He died for sin. And in that regard, let us understand: Jesus died for our sins. The gore of Jesus’ death, the pains of His scourging and crucifixion, the torments upon His soul – all of them were for our sakes. Undeserving of any punishment, for He had never once sinned, Jesus nonetheless, for His great love, bore our sin and died. Every punch across His face, every blow across His back, every groan of pain issued forth from His mouth: all of it finds its source in our sin – it was for our sins He died. As it is written, “but He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;” and, “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all;” and, “you shall make His soul an offering for sin;” and again, “He shall bear their iniquities.” [Isa 53:5, 6, 10, 11] As Paul says regarding Himself, that Jesus “loved me, and gave Himself for me,” [Gal 2:20] so it is true for each of us individually, that Jesus died for us and for our sins, for it is written,
“When we were yet without strength, in the correct time Christ [Jesus] died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” [Rom 5:6-8]
The wretchedness of our sins was placed squarely upon Jesus’ shoulders, for again, as the scriptures declare, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” [1 Cor 15:4] That woeful cry from the lips of Christ upon the cross, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” indeed has an answer: it was for us that Christ Jesus died and was forsaken of God. [Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34, Psa 22:1] Because of our sins, because of our rebellions, because of all our wrongdoings, Jesus died. That penalty which was very fairly our own to bear, which was due to God by us, Jesus took; for, “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;” [Rom 8:3] yes, God “spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,” and “made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” [Rom 8:32, 2 Cor 5:21] Jesus paid the price for our sins, that punishment which was due, and His blood was the purchase price. As Jesus said, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many;” [Mt 20:28] and to which The New Testament agrees, “forasmuch as you know you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…but with the precious blood of Jesus.” [1 Pe 1:18-19]
The apprehension of this fact, that Jesus “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world,” [Gal 1:4] as “an offering and a sacrifice to God,” [Eph 5:2] is crucial. It is necessary for any man’s salvation – for without the blood of Jesus Christ, no man can be saved, for “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sins],” and so therefore, “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.” [Heb 9:22, 28] But though Jesus died for sin, even the sin of all the world – as it says, “and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” [1 Jn 2:2] yet the application of that propitiation is not applied to everyone. Jesus “is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe,” [1 Tim 4:10] for it is only to those who believe in Jesus this propitious act applies; as Jesus says,
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears my word, and believes on Him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” [Jn 5:24]
And again,
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His One-and-only Unique Son, that whosoever is believing in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that is believing on Him is not condemned: but he that is believing not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the One-and-only Unique Son of God.” [Jn 3:16-18]
The word propitiation to which we have been making reference, means, “the act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person…the atonement or atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage His wrath and render Him propitious to sinners.” And propitious means, “favorable; kind…disposed to be gracious or merciful.” [Webster] The word signifies what Jesus has done through His suffering, for it is Jesus “whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood.” [Rom 3:24] Jesus’ sacrifice has, for the man who believes in it, “forgiven [him of] all trespasses,” [Col 2:13] and rendered God favorable and merciful to him; for through Christ God promises, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” [Heb 8:12] Again, God promises,
“Come now, and let us reason together, says The LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” [Isa 1:18]
The sacrifice of Jesus is so effective, so powerful; The “breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of Jesus’ love, which provoked Him to sacrifice Himself on our behalf, (for, “hereby we perceive love, because He laid down His life for us.” [1 Jn 3:16]), is “surpassing knowledge.” [Eph 3:18-19] Therefore, let no man think his sins are unworthy of the atonement offered through Jesus’ bloodshed. For the sacrifice of Christ knows no limits, no bounds: there is not a soul upon earth who could rightly say, “I am too far gone.” No, but Christ beckons all who have not yet believed in Him, to give their lives and believe: as God The Father urges men through Isaiah,
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto The LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, says The LORD.” [Isa 55:7-8]
My good man, may you draw near and behold the man upon the cross. May you behold Jesus Christ who died for your wretchedness, for your sinful and utterly destitute condition. You were as a man on the edge of hell, yes, may even still be as you read this, and yet Christ Jesus died for you. Today, may “it be known unto you therefore…that through this man, [Jesus Christ], is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things…” [Acts 13:38-39] Tarry no longer, my dear reader, for Jesus has “made peace through the blood of His cross,” [Col 1:20] and has opened unto us the way of reconciliation with God, the way of peace with God, for Jesus has made “reconciliation for the sins of the people” through His sacrifice on earth. [Heb 2:17] Through Christ Jesus alone, and the application of His sacrifice to your account by way of belief in Him, God promises,
“I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.” [Jer 33:8]
But to the man who does not believe, but remains stedfast in His unbelief: to Him will not be opened the gates of heaven on the last day but the gates of hell; for “the…unbelieving…shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” [Rev 21:8] The man who is not forgiven may not enter God’s kingdom, and shall therefore suffer without, “for the wages of sin is death;” and, “the soul that sins, it shall die;” [Rom 6:23, Ezek 18:4] and again,
“Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” [1 Cor 6:9-10]
See therefore that sin leads to death; that is, to eternal hell, as Jesus said, “where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched;” [Mk 9:44] and as He said again regarding hell’s eternal state, “everlasting fire,” and, “everlasting punishment.” [Mt 25:41, 46] But Jesus offers us life; “for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord;” [Rom 6:23] and, “whosoever is believing in [Jesus],” for life and forgiveness, “should not perish, but have eternal life.” [Jn 3:15]