Jesus’ Death (the real deal):
Not only did Jesus die on the cross for us, He also went through intense, unimaginable physical and mental torture leading up to His crucifixion. I won’t hide anything- I want you to know the full truth.
Since nobody is crucified today, many do not understand the extent of physical and mental trauma Jesus endured. Understanding the fullness of the sufferings that Jesus went through for you will give you a better idea of just how much He loves you – He was willing to endure literal hell, just for you and me.
Leading up to capture:
The night that Jesus was captured, He went away to pray. Just thinking about the suffering He was about to endure made Him sweat blood (Luke 22:44). Has anyone of us been so stressed that we’ve sweat actual blood? Jesus did. This condition is called ‘hematidrosis’. When someone is under immense stress, blood can seep out of their sweat glands. On top of all the gruesome physical sufferings Jesus was about to endure, He was also under unimaginable mental stress. The sins of the world were about to be on Him.
Abuse from His captors:
Following Jesus’ capture, His captors begin to physically abuse Him. Knowing that this was the only time Jesus could ever be harmed, Hell was unleashed on Him.
He was brutally hit in His face, spat on and forced to wear a crown made of thorns (Matthew 27:29). In order to further humiliate Jesus and mock His deity, the guards who captured him made a crown out of sharp thorns and forced it into the flesh on His head.
Then, Jesus was sentenced to be whipped with leather thongs many times on His body (John 19:1). These leather thongs were attached to a wooden handle, and had sharp bones and metal bones at the ends of them so that every time they touched skin, they ripped out a bit of flesh. By the end of it, muscle and bone could be exposed. Many present day scholars have suggested that the pain and effects from the whipping itself could have killed Jesus. And yet, Jesus suffered greatly more.
Crucifixion:
By now, Jesus was badly disfigured. He was then made to carry the heavy cross on which He was to be crucified. He was probably struggling to carry the wooden cross after the brutal abuse. So, a man called Simon (from Cyrene) had to take over from Jesus the heavy material of death (Mark 15:21).
Every heart wrenching step Jesus took was done in loving commitment and sacrifice for mankind. As He journeyed to the destination where He would be crucified, swamps of people crowded around Him. They were shouting insults, spitting on Him and constantly mocking Him. In those days, crucifixion was often reserved for the worst of criminals. So you can be sure that the pain from it would be maximised.
Finally, it was time for Jesus to be crucified. In order to secure a body to a cross, large nails had to be used. These nails were approximately 7 inches. They were nailed into His feet and wrists (the wrist is filled with nerves and is very delicate, so the pain was blinding).
Even after all this suffering, when offered a painkiller (sour wine mingled with gall), Jesus refused to take it (Matthew 27:34). Jesus did not want to take the easy way out. He chose to endure all the pain for us.
Now, you can imagine that the cross would not be made to be comfortable. Sharp pieces of wood would be sticking out from all areas of the cross. As Jesus hung on the cross, His severely wounded body and exposed flesh would scratch up and down these sharp pieces of wood with every breath.
Even in this brutal condition, Jesus prayed these words of amazing love, even for those who were mocking Him: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Not selfish for even a second, Jesus cared deeply for even the ones who put Him to death.
With only love for His people, Jesus took His final breath and died on the cross. He who was sinless humbly took these tortures and was put to death by His own creation – so that His creation could be free from the devil’s grip and receive full forgiveness from God. Even if we didn’t deserve it.
Now if Jesus had just stayed dead, this would not be an extraordinary story…
