Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of kings, One with the Father and the Holy Spirit…was crucified and died like a common criminal. Have you ever really wondered what is so special about Christ being crucified? What is so different about Jesus’ crucifixion in comparison with all the others who suffered the same physical torture? I’ve always wondered about this, and I dare to say, as a believer, you probably do too.
It is well known that throughout the ages, hundreds of thousands of other people have been tortured, killed, and even crucified, for one reason or the other. We also know that history has given us many heroes, who have given up their lives for the good of mankind. So one may ask, why is the crucifixion of Jesus so special or different?
First, let us take into account the period of history that Jesus was incarnated, when he ministered to mankind, and when he suffered death. The governing authority for that time was the great Roman Empire. The Romans were the ones who created, and sure did perfect, so to speak, the torturous methods of crucifixion. This particularly painful form of punishment was used by the Romans to punish those who disobeyed the rules and laws of the empire. Now it is important to point out that many who were crucified weren’t criminals in the sense that they had committed acts that were considered immoral according to God’s law and order. Many suffered this heinous method of treatment because of their religious beliefs or because of false accusations made against them. At other times, people were even randomly chosen for death by crucifixion because a paranoid government decided that it could use intimidation, fear, and yes, crucifixion as a tool to force people into submission. So, why was Jesus crucified, and why was His death so different? Let’s find out.
As Christians, this question of why Jesus’ crucifixion was so very different is a very important one that we all should be able to answer. We have been charged with taking the Gospel to the world, and we must be fully equipped and prepared for skeptics who cannot wait to challenge us. The key reason why Jesus’ crucifixion is ignored by many is simply because they view the historical event from a mere physical perspective. Yet, there is so much more about Jesus’ crucifixion that is so unique. The secular world cannot fully grasp its magnitude because of their lack of understanding. John said in 1 John 4:5,
“They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them”.
When I think about the crucifixion of my Lord, there are four main aspect of His suffering that I ponder on in an effort to gain an understanding of this Love act He endured for all of us.
Self- Emptying Aspect
This is an important fact to keep in mind as we speak of this Gospel and Great sacrifice that Christ Jesus suffered…all to offer us a chance of eternal life. But, before we can impart this love story to a fallen world, we must first understand the true nature of Jesus’ suffering. Too often, we focus on only one aspect, and that is the physical realm. You see, the physical suffering is the highlight of the human nature that He had taken on in order to be that perfect sacrifice. Philippians 2:6-8
“Who, being in very nature, God did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
The incarnation of Christ in itself is already a unique, unequal self-sacrifice for the maker of the universe, He who is the creator of all things that ever existed. Our Lord, who is without sin, without fault, perfect in every way and Holy in all His being, made Himself subject to this evil and guilty world. Jesus, who is now fully human in all His deity, is now subjected to all the human traits of pain, humiliation, temptations and grief. This is a fact that is so clearly highlighted in Isaiah 53:2-3:
“He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain, like one from whom people hide their faces. He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.”
We are well aware of the pain and grief we feel when the reality of an innocent person suffers to the full extent of the law. The pain and despair of an innocent person who suffers unjustly is painful for those who have have to just stand by and watch. But, if we who are of a sin nature, suffered so must and are hurt so deeply by unjust punishment, just imagine how much more our Lord grieved to see His Son suffered. The Lord could have ordered ten thousand Angels to protect His Son, yet He didn’t. This Man, the Son of God, who lives for all eternity, and by His very nature cannot commit sin, was condemned and sentence to death by false claims. Imagine the grief, sorrow and pain that settled in His very being. But He had to follow His Father’s will for the sake of man.
Burden Aspect
Since the onset of time, many people have experienced excruciating degrees of physical suffering for one reason or another. In my own lifetime, which is not very long, even I have seen way too many people suffer, and felt helpless and immaterial on the fringes of their pain. However, no one has ever carried the burden of every single act and sickness of everyone, everywhere, all over the world, past, present, and future persons that ever existed or will exist in this fallen world! Isaiah 53:4-6
“Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.
Imagine carrying such a weight! Well, I will tell you that our imagination cannot comprehend such burden nor will we be able to bear it for even a milli-second in time. Yet, because of our sinful nature, this burden is what we deserve. Jesus, who bore no sin, took on all of the burdens man has brought on to himself because of his wicked ways. The God Man, Who loves us so much, took our burdens on to Himself, and bore it for the entire world to see…all so that the world may be saved.
Separation Aspect
Jesus said in John 10:30
“I and the Father are one.”
This simple six word statement is a powerful, everlasting claim to the relationship of Jesus and the Father. Jesus’ relationship with the God the Father and the Holy Spirit is not one that is described in the Scripture as three different gods. Mark 12:29 Jesus said;
“Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
Three Persons, one God! This is a mystery that the human intellect cannot comprehend or explain, yet it affords us some understanding of the everlasting and unimaginable Love that exists in the Trinity. Jesus’ words in John 14:9-11 give us an insight of this relationship.
“Jesus answered; ‘Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.’”
Christ Jesus had to endure the heart-wrenching pain of being separated from the father. You see, because Jesus had taken on Himself all the burdens of shame, sickness and sin, God, the Father, could not look upon him, because the Holy God cannot look upon sin. As a matter of fact, during the entire Passion section of the Gospel, this moment of separation from the Father seemed to cause the most distress on our Lord and Savior. Matthew 27:46
‘About three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli lema sabachthani?” (Which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).’
Who can imagine such a painful separation: Death of your child? Death of a spouse? How about the death of a parent? While all these love relationships are special and great according to man’s standards, they are of an imperfect nature because of man’s fallen nature. The Love relationship of the Trinity is of a divine and perfect nature, a Love that cannot be humanly explained in full. We are able to love because God has made us in His image and the Bible say God is Love. Imagine our pain when we lose a love one! Even though we are of a wicked nature, the love that is built in our very being because we are made in God’s image has enabled the worse of mankind to love. Now, imagine the pain of the Trinity when Jesus was separated from the Father: the perfect Love, Holiest of Union, the perfect relationship. What an agony of loneliness amid the physical pain and heavy burdens that Jesus must have suffered?
Perfect Sacrifice
This is the perfect love story. A love story about our King who give His live for our eternal soul! The cup that Jesus bore will never have to be repeated again! Alleluia! Hebrew 9 verses 24 -28 reiterate this divine promise to us:
“For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands; that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, not to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him”.
The perfect sacrifice of Jesus! Many have died for a cause. And unfortunately, many more will continue to die for one or more particular cause or purpose as none will ever be sufficient enough to eradicate that which they sacrifice for. The perfect sacrifice of Jesus has conquered all that is evil, once and for all. Amen!
Believers, that is why breaking bread together is so important in the life of the body of Christ. Each time we come together, we celebrate Jesus’ victory over pain, suffering, and death. In obedience to His holy bidding at His last meal with the disciples, and as Christians all over the world have been doing for the last 2000 plus years, we consume the bread and drink the wine. In Luke 12:19, Jesus said;
“This is My Body, given for you. Whenever you eat it, do this in remembrance of me.”
This simple act is a reminder that Jesus Christ, our Holy redeemer, emptied Himself, took on our burden, separated Himself from His Father, and made the ultimate sacrifice to that we might have the opportunity to draw close to Him and have the hope of everlasting life.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Alleluia!
Fr. J. R. Tracey
The Branch Life 
Good words. Keep the Faith. Keep writing!