This Is The WAY
THIS IS THE WAY
Week Three – EASTER Sunday – THIS IS THE WAY
THIS THE WAY…
Galatians 3:13 New King James Version
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed iseveryone who hangs on a tree”),
THE GARDEN
The suffering of Jesus began in the Garden of Gethsemane as prophesied by Isaiah with the “travailing of his soul”. Jesus travailed or prayed for three hours.
We know this because when he returned to Peter, James, and John, he asked “Could you not tarry with me for one hour?”
He returned to them two more times during His prayer. We know the first prayer session was one hour, so it’s conceivable that the other two sessions were the same length.
This was an agonizing time of prayer where Jesus surrendered His flesh and human will totally to the will of the Father. The Bible records that during this time in prayer that Jesus’ sweat became as great drops of blood.
The human body has 200 million sweat glands. Imagine blood coming out of each of these to the point that Jesus’ clothing was soaked with blood.
This rare medical condition is called hematohidrosis, in which capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture, cause them to exude blood. It occurs under conditions of extreme physical or emotional stress.
All of His 200 million sweat glands breaking down at once would have been excruciatingly painful. And as a result, this 33-year-old carpenter’s skin became fragile and tender.
JESUS SUFFERING
Jesus would be escorted from Pilate to Herod and back again which is about 2 ½ miles. He was bloody and His skin was highly sensitive.
Jesus was handed over to the Roman soldiers who plucked His beard from His face as they mocked Him.
In order to do this, one soldier would have to hold His head while another would pluck with some kind of instrument.
It was common in those days to shame a man but shaving their head and beard….
But in this case, Jesus’ beard was violently and painfully torn out by the roots. When a beard is ripped out it causes hemorrhaging where the roots of the beard have grown into the nerves…again….very painful.
His face would be unrecognizable.
Pilate could find no fault in Jesus, but was trying to appease the mob that was demanding His death. After Jesus returned to stand before Pilate a second time, feeling the mountain pressure from the crowd and the religious leaders of the people, Pilate ordered Jesus to be scourged.
Scourging was common in Rome before crucifixion. Traditionally, the accused was stripped naked, and made to stand as the flogging covered the area from the shoulders, back, buttocks, and hamstrings.
The whip consisted of several strips of leather. In the middle of the strips were metal balls that hit the skin, causing deep bruising.
1. In addition, sheep bone was attached to the tips of each strip.
2. When the bone made contact with Jesus’ skin, it dug into His muscles, tearing out chunks of flesh and exposing the bone beneath the surface of the skin.
3. The flogging left the skin on Jesus’ back in long ribbons.
4. By this point, Jesus had lost a great volume of blood which caused His blood pressure to fall.
5. During traumatic events like this, the human body will attempt to remedy imbalances such as decreased blood volume. It is possible that Jesus’ thirst on the cross was due in part of His body’s natural response to such tremendous suffering and blood loss (John 19:28).
The Roman soldiers, amused that this weakened man had claimed to be a king, began to mock Jesus by placing a robe on his shoulders, a crown of thorns on His head, and a wooden staff as a scepter in His right hand.
1. Next, they spat on Jesus and struck Him on the head with a wooden staff. This would have driven the thorns deep into His
temples causing severe head trauma and unimaginable pain as the thorns penetrated nerves and blood vessels.
2. At first it appeared as though the crown of thorns was just the soldier’s way of mocking Jesus for being the called the King of the Jews.
3. However, a closer look reveals that much more was taking place. The crown of thorns worn by Jesus during His execution was an illustration of something that was taking place spiritually in this moment.
4. Thorns first appeared on the earth after God cursed the earth because of the sins of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3).
5. The thorns were a symbol of the curse of sin. Jesus took those same thorns and wore them on his head. Jesus didn’t just die for us. He took our sin upon Himself and became our substitute.
THE CROSS
Victims were nailed to a cross.
a. Since the weight of the entire cross was probably well over 300 lbs. (136 kg), only the crossbar was carried.
b. The crossbar, or patibulum, weighed 75 to 125 lbs. The accused carried only the horizontal piece (the patibulum) up the hill.
Crucifixion was invented by the Persians between 300-400 B.C. It is quite possibly the most painful death ever invented by humankind. The English language derives the word “excruciating” from crucifixion, acknowledging it as a form of slow, painful suffering.
The criminal was then thrown to the ground on his back, with his arms outstretched along the patibulum. The hands could be nailed or tied to the crossbar, but nailing apparently was preferred by the Romans.
The archaeological remains of a crucified body near Jerusalem and dating from the time of Christ, indicate that the nails were tapered iron spikes approximately 5 to 7 in (13 to 18 cm) long with a square shaft 3/8 in (1 cm) across.
Furthermore, these findings and the Shroud of Turin have documented that the nails commonly were driven through the wrists rather than the palms.
Therefore, the upper body would not be held to the cross.
If placed in the wrist, the bones in the lower portion of the hand support the weight of the arms and the body remains nailed to the cross.
The huge spikes damaged or severed the major nerve to the hand (the median nerve) upon impact. This caused continuous agonizing pain, and spasms in both of Jesus’ arms.
Once the victim was secured, the guards lifted the patibulum and place it on the stipes already in the ground.
As it was lifted, Jesus’ full weight pulled down on His nailed wrists, likely dislocating both His shoulders and elbows.
—Psalm 22:14
“I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint;
Jesus’ feet were then nailed through the tops. In this position (with the knees flexed at approximately 90 degrees), the weight of the body pushed down on the nails and the ankles support the weight.
1. The nails would not rip through the soft tissue as would have occurred with the hands. Again, the nail would have caused severe nerve damage (severing the dorsal pedal artery of the foot) and acute pain.
2. This would have disjointed His ankle bones and all of the foot muscles would have spasmed.
Jesus would have had to push up from the nails in His disjointed feet just to breath. This nail was driven through His Achilles heel. The nerves from that muscle would have sent excruciating pain throughout His entire body.
The major effect of crucifixion, beyond the excruciating pain, was a marked interference with normal respiration, particularly exhaling. The weight of the body, pulling down on the out- stretched arms and shoulders, would tend to fix the intercostal muscles in an inhalation state and thereby hinder passive exhalation.
To exhale, the diaphragm rises up, which compresses the air in the lungs and forces the air out (exhalation).
As Jesus hung on the cross, the weight of His body would have pulled down on the diaphragm and the air moving into His lungs would have remained there. Jesus would have to push up on His nailed feet (causing more pain) just to exhale.
Jesus was suspended on the cross for approximately six hours.
In order to speak, air must pass over the vocal cords during exhalation. The Gospels note that Jesus spoke seven times from the cross.
1. It is amazing that He was able to speak despite His pain. Just to utter a word sends so much pain through the body, that many victims would pass out.
2. But Jesus pushed up on spike of His disjointed feet to gasp enough oxygen to cry out seven times from the cross.
Luke 23:34 NKJV
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do.”
Luke 23:43 New King James Version
“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
John 19:26-27 New King James Version
“Woman, behold your son!”27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!”
Mark 15:34 New King James Version
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
John 19:28 New King James Version
“I thirst!”
John 19:29-30 New King James Version
“It is finished!”
Luke 23:46 New King James Version
“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’
They stabbed a spear in His side.
After Jesus’ death, the soldiers broke the legs of the two criminals crucified alongside Him (John 19:32), causing suffocation. This would speed their impending death.
When they came to Jesus, He was already dead so they did not break His legs (John 19:33). Instead, the soldiers pierced His side (John 19:34) to ensure that He was dead.
In doing this, it is reported that “blood and water came out” (John 19:34), referring to the watery fluid surrounding the heart and lungs. What a beautiful picture of our baptism and salvation that is provided to us in this moment.
Luke 23:44-46, 53 NKJV
44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.
THE GRAVE
Luke 24:1-7 New King James Version
1Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
EARTH, HEAVEN, and HELL.
The earth was silent as the disciples hid behind locked doors in sorrow and fear.
But in heaven, the angels were rejoicing and singing.
In hell, Jesus was preaching to the spirits of the dead.
On the earth, the women were walking to the tomb.
In heaven, the King and High Priest was coming to sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat for sins of all mankind.
In hell, Jesus was leading the captives free and opening the door from death to life.
On the earth, the angels were rolling the stone away.
In heaven, the choir of 10,000 times 10,000 was singing “Hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigns.” The seraphim were shouting “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!”
Hell had gone silent because the ground of the tomb was trembling and they did not know what was about to happen next.
On the earth, Jesus was getting up from the grave.
In heaven, the Father was standing to welcome home His Son.
In hell, the Satan was screaming, and the demons were trembling, for they had been eternally defeated.
On the earth, the women were weeping with joy, Peter and John were running to the tomb and the soldiers had all fled.
In heaven, there was rejoicing over all of the saints who were now home.
Hell was silent, their plans were crushed, for the Lamb had overcome!
The city of Jerusalem had many crucifixions.
1. But only one time did the earthquake,
2. But only one time did the dead saints rise,
3. But only one time did the daylight turn to night,
4. But only one time was the veil was torn,
5. But only one time did death row inmates pray; and,
6. Only one time did soldiers kneel!
What happened to Jesus when He died on the cross?
1. His body was buried.
2. His soul and spirit when to hell.
3. Jesus went to hell, so you wouldn’t have to.
Ephesians 4:7-10 New King James Version
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”
9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
THE RESURRECTION
On that third day, Jesus arose. It is not easy to describe what a resurrection looks and feels like. How does one describe eternal victory?
Song Writers have tried to capture its essence for years.
1. Eugene Bartlett penned the story this way:
I heard an old, old story
How a Savior came from glory
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me
I heard about His groaning
Of His precious blood's atoning
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory.
Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever
He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood
He loved me 'ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood
Songwriter, Bill Gaither, said it like this:
God sent His son
They called Him Jesus
He came to love
Heal and forgive
He bled and died
To buy my pardon
An empty grave
Is there to prove
My Savior lives
And because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives!
So today we celebrate what Jesus did.
He conquered death, hell and the grave.
He set every captive free.
He put every enemy under your feet.
He gave you power of sickness.
He gave you power over fear.