Roman crucifixion in Jesus' time.
The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is
quickly thrown
backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The
legionnaire feels for
the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy,
square
wrought-iron nail through the wrist deep into the wound.
Quickly he moves to
the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to
pull the arms too
tightly,
but to allow some flex and movement.
The cross is then lifted
into place.
The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and
with both feet
extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of
each, leaving the
knees flexed. The victim is now crucified.
As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the
wrists,excruciating fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up
the arms to
explode in the brain -- the nails in the wrists are putting
pressure on the
median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this
stretching torment,
he places the full weight on the nail through his feet.
Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through
the nerves
between the bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps
sweep through his
muscles, knotting them deep relentless, and throbbing pain.
With these
cramps comes the inability to pull himself upward to breathe.
Air can be
drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise
himself in order to
get even one small breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up
in the lungs
and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside.
Spasmodically, he is able to push himself upward to exhale and
bring in
life-giving oxygen. Hours of limitless pain, cycles of
twisting,
joint-renting cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation,
searing pain as
tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down
against rough
timber.
Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the
chest as the
pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the
heart. It is
now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a
critical level. The
compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish
blood into the
tissues. The tortured lungs are making frantic effort to gasp
in small gulps
of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his
tissues.
Finally, He allows his body to die.
All this, the Bible records with the simple words, "and they
crucified Him"
What wondrous love is this? And remember, this was only the physical pain. Imagine the spiritual agony of having known no sin of His own but voluntarily becoming every sin, whether large or small, that has ever been or ever will be committed. How it must have sickened Him and then hurt Him when God the Father, who cannot have any fellowship with sin, had to turn His face away!!! I marvel that He loved me enough to endure this, and I love Him for it! Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound! Now God does not see my sin when He looks at me! Fellowship with Him is permanently restored because He sees me clothed with the righteousness of Jesus, cleansed by His precious blood! How can anyone reject such a gift? (Romans 10:9, 10.13)
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The Bible says, "Now is the acceptable time, behold,
now is the day of salvation"
(2 Corinthians 6:2)...
4-21-2000
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