CRUCIFIED!
By Pastor Lem Niere
“They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink”
Matthew 27:34, 35.
If a man was about to be executed, he could request a narcotic, mingled with wine, which would help alleviate the pain of crucifixion. The word “gall” in this verse refers to a special painkiller mingled with vinegar for this purpose. Jesus was offered this aesthetic twice—once before His crucifixion and once while He was dying on the cross.
In both cases, Jesus refused to drink it. He’d rather drink the cup His Father had given Him to drink.
Crucifixion was one of the cruelest and most barbaric forms of punishment in the ancient world Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian described crucifixion as “the most wretched of deaths.” This punishment was reserved for the most serious offenders who committed treason or terrorism.
Jesus was laid on the crossbeam that He carried with His arms outstretched. Then a soldier would drive a five-inch iron nail through each of His wrists into the crossbeam. Then He was hoisted up by a rope, and the crossbeam was dropped into a notch on top of the upright post. Jesus suffered excruciating pain as His hands and wrists were wrenched by the sudden jerking motion. The weight of His body must have caused His arms to be pulled out of their arm sockets.
When the victim was nailed to his cross, the nails were not driven through the palms of his hands, (which we often see in paintings) but through his wrists. Once the wrists were secured in place, the feet came next. The victim’s legs would be positioned so that the feet were pointed downward with the soles pressed against the post which the victim was suspended. A long nail would be driven between the bones of the feet, lodged firmly enough between those bones to prevent it from tearing through the feet as the victim arched upward, gasping for breath.
In order for the victim to breath, he had to push himself up by his feet, which were nailed to the vertical beam. However, because the pressure on his feet became unbearable, it wasn’t possible for him to remain long in this position, so eventually he would collapse back into the hanging position. As the victim pushed up and collapsed back down again and again, his shoulders eventually dislocated and popped out of joint. Soon these were followed by the elbows and wrists. These various dislocations caused the arms to be extended up to nine inches longer, resulting in terrible cramps on the victim’s arm muscles and making it impossible for him to push himself up ward any longer to breathe. Finally too exhausted and could no longer push himself upward, the process of asphyxiation began.
Jesus experienced all of this torture, and more so, as He bore the weight of the sins of the world.
When the Roman solider came to determine whether or not Jesus was alive or dead, he thrust his spear on Jesus’ side. The Bible tells us that water and blood came pouring from the wound—evidence that Jesus’ heart and lungs had shut down and were filled with fluid. This was enough to assure the soldier that Jesus was already dead. It was customary for Roman soldiers to break the lower leg bones of one being crucified, making it impossible for him to push upward to breathe. This was not necessary in Jesus’s case because He was already dead. This fulfilled the Bible prophecy that “none of his bones shall be broken” Psalm 34:20.
When I read about the crucifixion of Jesus, it makes me want to repent for the callousness with which the world looks upon the cross today. In our society, the cross has become a fashion item. The symbol of the cross is even tattooed on people’s flesh!
At this time of the year, it would be good for all of us to take a little time to remember what the Cross of Jesus Christ was really like. When we fail to remember what it cost Jesus to save us, we tend to treat our salvation cheaply and with disregard.
That’s why the apostle Peter wrote, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with he precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
