Part 1 : Facts About the Crucifixion
Crucifixion probably started first with the Persians but perfected by the Romans to inflict the maximum pain to the victim. Crucifixion was also the most disgraceful form of execution and cruel that Roman citizen will not be executed by crucifixion. Initially, the victim was suspended above the ground and die a slow and painful death.
1) The Nails Piece the Nerves
The nails in the wrists and would be likely to pierce the main nerves. As the victim pushed up to breath, the wrists would rotate against the nail, causing intense pain in the arms and his feet, recurring pain every time the crucified person pulled up to breathe.
2) The Shoulders Dislocate
The victim carries the horizontal beam. , and the executioner lifts the victim up and hammers the horizontal beam into the vertical beam. once raised, pulls the shoulders out of their sockets and dislocate because of the weight of the body. The knees are bent at a 45-degree angle. This causes his thigh muscles to experience muscle cramps and pain because it is constantly supporting the body’s weight.
3) Flogging Ripped Off Skin and Flesh
The victims are flogged before crucifixion. The whip had iron balls and sharp bones tied to the end of each leather thong on the whip. The iron balls cause deep bruising on the victim and the sharp bones tear skin and muscle away when the whip is pulled back, resulting in great loss of blood.
Jesus was too weak to carry his own cross, so the soldiers forced Simon to carry the beam on behalf of Jesus. “As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” (Lk 23:26)
The scourging weakened Jesus so much that he died after a relatively short period on the cross. “Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.” Mk 15:42-44
4) Stress Causing Heart Rupture
Due to the loss of blood loss, the body doesn’t have enough oxygen, the heart pumps harder, trying to overcompensate for the lack of oxygen. The heart then goes into cardiac stress, an may cause it to rupture.
5) Death by Suffocation
Hanging on the cross, the victim can only breathe by pulling up with his wrists and pushing himself up with his legs. . The victim pushes himself up to take a full breath but difficult to completely exhale, his breaths are shallow breaths. Eventually it leads to an agonizing and slow death by suffocation.
6) The Legs Are Broken to Hasten Death
When the executioner needed to end the crucifixion, he would break the victim’s legs by smashing the femur bones with a large, heavy mallet, resulting in death by suffocation.
“But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” (John 19:33-34)
Explanation:
For God so loves the world that He gives His only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but has eternal life. Jesus comes because we are sinners and we cannot get out of the slavery of sin. The only way of escape is for Jesus to come to die on the cross for you and me.
Part 2 : Why Jesus Must Suffer?
a ) We thought that no one knows our pain and suffering that we experienced in the deepest part of our soul. But Jesus has come to share in our suffering. It is a common human experience to suffer pain of all kinds in public and in private. The actions of certain people have intentionally or unintentionally inflicted pain, hurts, rejection or sorrow to us. For some children, the scars and wounds in their soul continue with them into their adulthood. There will quite a number of people here tonight who can identity with what I say.
• Have you felt that you have betrayed by your close friend? Jesus was betrayed by Judas, one of the twelve disciples.
• Have you been rejected by people? Maybe someone whom you long that the person will accept you, but you were totally disappointment. Jesus was rejected by his own people He came to save. Finally, on the cross he took the sin of the whole world and he was abandoned by His God. He became sin for you and me. He cried, “My God My God why have you forsake me”.
• Have you felt that you have failed ? Jesus has already paid the price for us.
• Have you been shamed and humiliated? Have you been mocked? Jesus was stripped and exposed . He was shamed publicly and humiliated. Have you been mocked or accused for something you did not do? Jesus was mocked by the unbelieving Jews challenged him. He saved others but he cannot save himself.
• Have you been wrongly accused, or false charges placed on you for someone you did not do? Jesus was wrongly accused by false witnesses.
• Have you felt that you walking through a valley of darkness? A strange supernatural darkness covers the world from 12 noon until 3 p.m. It was the Passover festival and an eclipse of the sun was impossible because at the time, it was the time of the full moon. This was the great darkness which Jesus went through when he hung on the cross.
Jesus invites us to come to him with all our failure, suffering and pain in our hearts. We do not have to walk alone anymore. He is a Healer of all broken hearts and broken lives.
b) Illustration: There was a girl who wanted to commit suicide because the mother’s boyfriend molested her. Her own mother did not believe her.
Testimony: My brother rejected me. At a young age of 6 or 7 years old, I looked up to my brother . He is 3 years older than me. He rejected me and not love me. That was very hurtful. I observed that the boys in my neighbourhood have their elder brothers to play with them or teach them how to cycle. But for me during those years, I have no memory of my brother speaking kindly and softly, only harsh words and hateful looks.
My father was in depression and withdrawn into his own world. Most of the time, he was silent and seldom talk to anyone. He did not have the capacity to communicate with me. I did not have a father to teach me things in my formative years. In my growing years , I was always looking for a father figure in life. I remember that when I was in secondary school, I remember that when I went to buy a guitar, it was not my father who brought me there my English teacher.
I had very good grades in all my school results, PSLE, O Levels, A Levels, Degree. But I had issue of inferiority complex, unexplainable sadness. This is because of the lack of a healthy father relationship; I grew up with identity and confidence issues in my life.
c) The Bible says that our natural man or sinful self is rebellious towards God. Therefore, we must confess our sins and come to God to forgive us. Instead we must confess repent our sins and return to God.
Gal 5:19 -23 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, lust, impurity, idolatry, occult and black magic, hatred, strife, jealousy, uncontrollable of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, … those who practice such things will not enter the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Part 3 : Resurrection of the Indestructible Life
Jesus died and was inside the tomb for three days. They rolled a large stone and set a Roman platoon to guard the tomb entrance so that there can be no one who can enter or come out. There is stone large enough, or soldiers strong enough to prevent Jesus from coming out of the tomb. Not even death can keep Jesus in the tomb. There was an earthquake and an angel appeared to roll away the stone. But Jesus was not in the tomb. Jesus has already resurrected, and he appeared to more than five hundred people (1Cor 15:6 ). Death cannot keep us in the tomb because Jesus is alive, and He lives in us. If you have Jesus, you also can have overcoming life. The resurrection of Jesus is our hope because if we have Jesus, we can be overcomers in challenges in life.
a) Story of the Father (Prodigal Son) Luke 15:11-32
Jesus told a story of a man who had two sons. The younger son asked for his inheritance. It was a huge insult, like “I wish you were dead.” He took the money to a faraway country. There squandered away all his money. He indulged in all kinds of sins and immoral living. Drinking, womanising or even drugs.
When his money ran out and all his friends left him. He works as a pig farmer. One day he was so hungry that he wanted to the pig’s food. He came to his senses and decide to come back to his fathers’ house. On the way, he rehearsed a speech that says, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Please take me in as one of your hired servants.
The father’s heart is longing for his son, waiting daily for him to come home. Far from the home, the father saw the form of his son on the horizon. The father ran and hug his son. Before the son could finish his speech, the father ordered the servants to give the son a clean robe, a golden ring and a pair of sandals. They also killed a calf and called a party to celebrate his home coming.
I am not talking only about attending church. You can be attending church and being busy in church and still far away from God. I am talking about knowing the heart of love of God the Father. He loves you so much that He sends his only Son Jesus to die for you. When we come home, we will find love and acceptance of God.
b) Many of us hears people closest to us how we have not been good enough. They tell us that we have not met their expectation. We need to earn their love and acceptance. This is performance-based love. We grow up learning how to tick all the right boxes in order to belong the family and belong in the group.
Even our fathers and mothers do the same to us. How many of us long to hear those words of words “I love you because you are my son.” Some of us never hear any loving words of affirmation. Sometimes we only hear words of rejection and the words crushed our souls.
Psalms 139: 13-16 tells us that the heart of the Father loves us unconditionally. He created us and saw our unformed bodies when we were still in our mothers’ womb.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Let us receive these words from Father God: “I love you, my son , my daughter”, “You do not have to prove that you are good enough, I love you because I am your Father,” “and because I made you, I am very proud of you”,
The Lord rejoices over us with singing Zeph 3:17
c) God has a plan for your life which is far better than you can ever imagine.
The Word of God in Jer 29:11: “I know my plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”
Faith is for today, but hope is for tomorrow. When you are going on a vacation to Toyoko Disneyland. You are at the immigration. You are waiting for the passport to be stamped. You have the faith that your passport will be stamped. And then board the plane and fly. But all the while waiting in the queue and waiting for the plane and enduring the many hours cramped up in the airplane seat. You have one hope… that is to reach Toyoko Disneyland and that is hope.
Conclusion
God will give faith for today, but He also wants to give you hope for the future. God has prepared something better for you in the future.
We can trust him and love him because he loves us so much to die on the cross for our sins. Let us make a decision to surrender our lives to our Lord Jesus Christ and to lead us all the days of your lives.
