READ IT ALOUD: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)

PONDER IT PRAYERFULLY: My mother once said to me, “If you want an idea of what Jesus went through on the cross, say your prayers tonight with your arms stretched out openly, like His were when He was on the cross.”

I tried it that night, and did not last more than five minutes.

Our innocent Lord suffered perhaps the cruelest form of torture for our sakes. First, His own disciples, who probably would have said they had been His closest friends for three years, fled His presence. The crowds, possibly made up even of some people He had healed or people who had seen Him heal others, shouted at Pilate to have Him crucified. Because one prisoner was released at this time of the year by custom, Pilate offered to let Jesus go. But the crowds demanded that Barabbas, a notorious criminal, be released instead.

Rough, tough soldiers, who knew how to torment and persecute, tore through His flesh with the famous cat-of-nine-tails, a multi-tailed whip that had 9 prongs and tiny balls of lead at the end, and was specifically invented to inflict severe pain. His back was now an unrecognizable mass of ribbons of bleeding skin. He was slapped. Huge, long, thick thorns were woven into a crown and pressed firmly into His head until He was bleeding. And they hit Him on the head with the thorns in, likely causing Him to bleed more. When He was probably on the verge of fainting, a heavy cross was then placed on His back, and the crowds flocked behind Him on the way to the Hill of the Skull.

Then they stripped Him of His clothes. They drove huge nails into His hands and feet. They were nothing like the tiny, modern carpenter’s nails we see today. These could easily have been rusty and serrated on the edges. Jesus was then lifted up on the cross to die. And as if to add insult to injury, He was placed between two thieves, so that there seemed no difference between Him and a vile law-breaker. His hands were stretched out but unlike me one night a few years ago, He could not bring them down. They were stuck in that position. He was in pain, but could not take painkillers. The blood trickling down His body, and then drying on His skin in the hot sun, must have made Him itchy, but He could not reach and scratch.

And the crowds mocked Him some more. “Physician, heal Thyself!” Someone fulfilled a prophecy He had given that they would tell Him these very words. He was hungry and thirsty. Deserted by everyone, except John and His mother and a few women.

It was dark. Jesus was fighting to breathe. He was suffocating. He was thirsty. His heart was failing. He was dying… This was the first time He referred to His Father as, “My God!” He asked, in anguish, “Why have You forsaken me?” Just like we do when we go through the slightest of trials. He said, “It is finished!” and commended His Spirit into His Father’s hands.

The earth thundered. The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. A soldier drove a spear into Jesus’ side and water gushed out, and the soldier said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

And it looked like it was over.

But it had just begun.

BE A DOER (JAMES 1:22): Do you think Jesus does not know shame? Picture Him being stripped of His dignity on that cross. Do you think He has never experienced pain? Think of the physical pain and heartbreak He suffered. Do you think you’re the loneliest person in the world? Nobody understood His pain; yet He understands yours. No matter what you’re going through this Easter weekend, rest assured that Jesus is intimate with your experiences and can empathize with your situation. He has “been there,” and farther, and “done that,” and more.  Take your pain to Him. He understands.

HIDE IT IN YOUR HEART (PSALM 119:11): For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).

PRAY IT PERSONALLY: Jesus, I thank You for what You did for me. You died for me, so that I should live for You. No man took Your life from You; You said that You laid it down Yourself. You bore pain, so that I would be healed. You make all things new! It is because of Your sacrifice that I can say that I have abundant life, a future, a hope, a praise, a Father, a Friend. Thank You for bearing my transgressions, becoming intimate with my experiences, fulfilling Your promise… thank You so much for dying on the cross for me, and for the fact that the story does not end there… Amen.

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