It was the event that forever changed history.
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ would forever pay the eternal debt that we as humans owed by falling for the temptation of sin. Being hung on a cross, while not a common practice today, is a most gruesome death, one so painful and horrendous we cannot actually fathom the fullness of the agony Jesus went through for us.
As part of his teaching on Jesus’ final hours before his death, Pastor Greg Locke explained the horrors of the crucifixion.
“Crucifixion is literally death by asphyxiation,” Locke says. “In order to exhale, Jesus had to push up on His feet, so the tension on His diaphragm and His muscles would be eased for just a moment.”
But remember, Jesus’ feet were not dangling freely. They were nailed to the cross.
“But by doing this, His foot pushed through the spike, locking up against the tarsal bone, creating incredible amounts of pain. Also, He was scraping His bloodied back against the coarse wood of the cross,” Locke says.
This happened after Jesus was flogged, His flesh having literally been ripped out from His back.
“As Jesus slows down His breathing, He goes into respiratory acidosis. The carbon dioxide in His blood is dissolved into carbonic acid, causing the acidity of His blood to rise rapidly. This leads to an irregular heartbeat,” Locke says.
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As His bodily functions became nearly impossible for Jesus, He eventually gave His very last breath. Not a single one of His bones would be broken because as prophesied in the Old Testament, He as the Passover Lamb would not have any of them crushed.
When Jesus gave up His Spirit, the veil in the temple was torn, and the atonement for the sins of the world had been made. No longer did sin separate God and man; direct access to God was now available.
“Jesus simply says, ‘it is finished,'” Locke says. “What’s finished? [A] sacrificial system that for 4,000 years served as a constant reminder of the judgement of God. It is done. No more blood will have to be shed, no more lambs, rams, bulls, turtle doves, pigeons; it’s done…Nobody else has to die. It’s done.”
As we creep upon Easter in the coming days, let us remember that the offering God gave us in His Son Jesus is the very best gift anyone ever could have given us. There is no other substitute that could have washed away the sin of every single person who ever had and ever would live. It is only by the sacrifice of God taking our place that the opportunity exists for us to live as holy and righteous. Only one sacrifice could have allowed us the gift of eternity. It is the sacrifice of God giving us His only Son that has made our sins white as snow.
Praise Him for making the impossible possible.
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.
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