The Crucifixion of God

What are we remembering today? Are we remembering the death of a great moral teacher? Are we remembering the death of a great prophet? No. Jesus claimed to be equal with God. He claimed to be the Son of God.

Since Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh, we cannot rightly say that He was simply a good moral teacher or simply a prophet. If Jesus was not God, but claimed to be God, then we are remembering the death of a great deceiver. If Jesus was not God, but claimed to be God, then we are remembering the death of a man who is on the same level of a man who thinks he is a poached egg (C.S. Lewis).

Yet, if Jesus claimed to be God, and if He is just that--as we believe--then we are remembering today the most profound event in human history: The crucifixion of God.

33When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified (Jesus) and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

Jesus was taken to the place called The Skull. We refer to this place as 'Calvary', which sounds nicer than "The Skull", but this is precisely what 'Calvary' means. The Son of God is taken to the place called The Skull and is crucified between two criminals.

Death by crucifixion was agonizingly slow, and came about by suffocation. A medical expert on crucifixion describes the physical effects that Jesus would have endured while nailed to a cross,

"As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles . . . With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed . . . Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen." (The Crucifixion of Jesus: The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of View, Arizona Medicine, vol. 22, no. 3 (March 1965), 183-187).

This process would continue for hours until all strength in the legs is gone, and Jesus is no longer able to push up in order to breathe.

Aside from the physical pain of crucifixion, there was also the stigma of disgrace and humiliation that was attached to it. Victims were beaten, whipped, and taunted even before reaching the cross. They were usually hanged naked, made a spectacle of shame for all to see.

And how did our Lord respond to such treatment? By this time, He had been beaten, whipped, spat on, taunted, and now, stripped naked, Jesus is nailed to a cross between two criminals, and what are the first recorded words of Jesus on the cross? "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (v.34).

As C.H. Spurgeon has said, "neither the weakness of the past (beatings), nor the pain of the present, could prevent (Jesus) from continuing in prayer. The Lamb of God was silent to men, but He was not silent to God. Dumb as sheep before her shearers, He had not a word to say in His own defense to man, but He continues in His heart crying unto his Father, and no pain and no weakness can silence His holy supplications. Beloved, what an example our Lord herein presents to us! Let us continue in prayer so long as our heart beats; let no excess of suffering drive us away from the throne of grace, but rather let it drive us closer to it."

Even more remarkable is the fact that our Lord's prayer to His Father was not for Himself, but to those who were responsible for His execution, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

The phrase, "for they do not know what they are doing" does not suggest that they were unaware that they were sinning, but they were unaware of the enormity of their crime. They were blinded to the reality that they were crucifying God the Son.

Jesus, knowing this, prays that His Heavenly Father would forgive them. Keep in mind now, that when God the Son prays, God the Father answers. How, and when, was Jesus' prayer answered?

It was not answered immediately, because the people continued in their sin. Immediately after praying for their forgiveness, we read that " (the soldiers) cast lots, dividing up the garments (of Jesus) among themselves" (v.34).

The next verse describes how "³⁵even the rulers were sneering at (Jesus), saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One." ³⁶The soldiers also mocked (Jesus), coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, ³⁷and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!" ³⁸Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

Matthew's gospel even includes "those passing by"(Mt. 27:39) among those who hurled abuse at Jesus. Matthew also writes how, at one point, both criminals participated in mocking Jesus (Mt. 27:44).

But then something happens. Jesus' prayer, "Father, forgive them" begins to be answered. Luke records how "³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" ⁴⁰But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹"And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." ⁴²And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!" ".

For this one thief, mocking had given way to pleading, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!". And Jesus said to him, "⁴³Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

Let this be a lesson on how salvation is obtained. This man was a criminal. He had done nothing to merit salvation, rather to his demerit, he partook in mocking Jesus as they first hung on the cross. This man was also about to die. He would have no opportunity to do good works. He would have no opportunity to be baptized or to meet together with other Christians. Yet, no sinner was ever given a more explicit assurance of salvation, "⁴³Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

The thief on the cross did not earn salvation, it was granted to him. Jesus prayed that His Father might forgive those mocking Him, that He might forgive those who had beaten Him, that He might forgive those who were crucifying Him. The answer to this prayer begins with the thief on the cross, whose mocking of Jesus eventually gave way to, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!".

Luke goes on to record that "⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." Having said this, He breathed His last. ⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent."".

It is fitting that Jesus' final passage into death came with the same deliberateness that He exhibited throughout His ministry. Remember that Jesus is not a helpless victim here. As He said at His arrest, Jesus had more than 72,00 angels at His disposal to deliver Him. But deliverance was not a part of the eternal plan. This was a mission of suffering.

The reality is that Jesus allowed Himself to be arrested and crucified by sinful men. As Isaiah prophesied of the Christ hundreds of years earlier, "He poured out Himself to death"(Isa. 53:12). If Jesus had been cornered by a mob and killed, we could not rightly say that He died for us. But because Jesus voluntarily gave Himself up to death as One free from sin, we believe that this death atoned for our sins. We believe that all who trust in His sacrificial death, all who exclaim "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!", will one day enjoy the eternal paradise with our Lord.

The thief on the cross was promised this eternal paradise that very day. It was the first answer to Jesus' prayer, "Father forgive them". The second answer to Jesus' prayer came at the conversion of the centurion. This centurion, most commentators agree, would have been responsible for overseeing the entire crucifixion. He would have been around for Jesus' trial before Pilate; he would have witnessed the beatings and taunting of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion; he would have likely heard Jesus' prayer, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing". But when it was all said and done, it is clear that this centurion was also a part of answered prayer, for Luke writes that "he began praising God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent"". Similarly, Matthew records the centurion exclaiming, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Mt. 27:54).

First, the thief on the cross; second, the centurion; and in the weeks to come, Jesus' prayer, "Father forgive them", would be answered by the conversion of thousands following Pentecost.

It is no wonder that the apostle Paul stresses the death of Christ in his writings, because it is the death of Christ that saves us. Let us not be in too much of a hurry to get to Easter, because Easter gains its meaning from Good Friday.

How then shall we respond? Do we carry on, 'business as usual', or does the death of Christ demand that we change the way we live? It is only reasonable that if Christ died for you, then you should live for Him.

Perhaps no hymn expresses this idea better than the last verse of our hymn, O Sacred Head Now Wounded:

Thanks for posting this touching account of Our Lord's passion.

A book that I'd recommend for anybody interested in the subject is A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion Of Our Lord Jesus Christ As Described By A Surgeon. A review of the book states:

Dr. Barbet gives us a heart-rending account of the pain and suffering that Christ undertook on our behalf. In the book, Dr. Barbet begins with the Shroud (Chapter 1), speaks on crucifixion and what was know about this practice (Chapter 2 and 3) and ten launches into the sufferings of Christ based on what history tells us about the practice of crucifixion (Chapters 4 through 7). He then explains what archaeology and the Gospels tells us about the removal from the cross and the burial (Chapters 8 and 9). The last couple of chapters ten touch on a scientifically accurate crucifix (Chapter 10) and Dr. Barbets final thoughts (Chapter 11) followed by a meditation on the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ (Chapter 12).
Though the book was written in the 1940's, the science is good and widely accepted. Dr. Barbet does a good job of putting things in a layman's context so everyone (not just those with an understanding of human anatomy/physiology) can understand what had taken place. The book s written very formally, but that is really a product of the time and does not detract from the message this book conveys.
After reading this book, I have come to a deeper appreciation of the sufferings of Christ, and I imagine that most people who do read this book will come to a similar conclusion. For anyone wanting to come to a deeper appreciation of the Passion, I would highly recommend this book, and it would handsomely complement any Bible study of the Passion narratives, especially during the Lenten season.

Everytime I think of our LORD's passion I am ashamed, not of HIM, but of myself for what I am. At the same time I am filled with awe and wonder that HE chose to do this for me and for those HE foreknew from the foundations of the world.

1 GOD of my salvation, hear,
And help me to believe!
Simply do I now draw near,
Thy blessing to receive:
Full of sin, alas! I am,
But to thy wounds for refuge flee;
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb,
Thy blood was shed for me.

2 Standing now as newly slain,
To thee I lift mine eye!
Balm of all my grief and pain,
Thy grace is always nigh:
Now, as yesterday, the same
Thou art, and wilt for ever be;
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb,
Thy blood was shed for me.

3 Nothing have I, Lord, to pay,
Nor can thy grace procure,
Empty send me not away,
For I, thou know'st, am poor:
Dust and ashes is my name,
My all is sin and misery;
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb,
Thy blood was shed for me.

4 No good word, or work, or thought,
Bring I to gain thy grace;
Pardon I accept unbought,
Thy proffer I embrace,
Coming, as at first I came,
To take, and not bestow on thee;
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb,
Thy blood was shed for me.

5 Saviour, from thy wounded side
I never will depart;
Here will I my spirit hide
When I am pure in heart:
Till my place above I claim,
This only shall be all my plea,
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb,
Thy blood was shed for me.

--- Charles Wesley

[The crucifixion of God.]

People stepping all over doctrine all the time nowdays and so I beleive we are seeing the growth of the anti Christ no longer Christian one world church of fools and liars who disregard the Doctine of the Scriptures for thier denominational belief system instituted by men and not God.
The Lord Jesus who did no sin was crucified for our sins that we may live by His blood sacrafice if we BELIEVE Him. The body God occupied during the first Advent was the body the romans and jews crucified as God predicted in psalm 22. But the Spirit God never died but left the body of Christ after the 6 hour period of suffering on the cross and the Word of God descended into hell for 3 days to set the souls of all those who died before the ressurection on the 3rd day of the body of Christ unto everlasting life, this body having flesh and bones and being spirtual and physical, the first man to arise unto everlasting life and Jesus now sits with the Father in heaven at HIS right hand and will come again to defend Israel from destruction at the battle of Armageddon when He literally descends from Heaven at His second Advent. Right now we are seeing the stage being set and only those who do not know and believe Biblical Prophecy will once again be caught unawares the same as the first advent.
I wish people would read the scripute especially if they say they are Christians.

"What are we remembering today? Are we remembering the death of a great moral teacher? Are we remembering the death of a great prophet?
No. Jesus claimed to be equal with God. He claimed to be the Son of God."

"No. Jesus claimed to be equal with God"

No he didn't

"Why callest thou me good?"

"There is none good, save God"

Phl 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Form = appearance, sometimes used as how a child is the image or the form of his parents

robbery = stealing

equal = isos— of same value but distinctly different, isosolese angles are of same value but are not the same angle

Jesus, being in the form of his parent did not think it stealing to be of the same value or position as his father

But it certainly does make a distinction between Jesus and God, doesn’t it?

Phl 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: . . . .

"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him."

"Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I."

Sorry

I'm going to have to go with teacher rather than the student on this.

(For they error not comprehending The Father.)

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