I know you covered 8:1 in the previous post, but 8:2 is a weird place to begin.
There is no condemnation for those who believe in Jesus because He has set us free from the law. He came down here to take our place on the cross. That doesn't sound like much when put into these words; this sounds like what we've heard out whole lives. Jesus died for us, He loves us, He saved us ... we've heard these phrases so many times. But what did it mean for Jesus to come down?
We all know that crucifixion was unpleasant but, just how much pain did Jesus have to endure? Needless to say, it was excruciating. (I've mentioned before ...) The term excruciating literally translates into "out of the cross". People today compare their pain to the pain felt by those condemned to the cross. A little while ago, the Discovery Channel aired a documentary series called Machines of Malice, which explains sadistic execution methods from different time periods. The first of the series was called Ancient Machines and featured execution methods from Roman times. Some of the more memorable ones were the bee basket and the tree tearer (Hooray for alliteration!). Kinda stomach-churning. Among this nastiness was crucifixion.
Jesus would've had to endure three things: humiliation, physical pain, and spiritual separation from God the Father.
In Roman times, crucifixion (well, execution in general) was a form of entertainment. Ironically, the same crowd that welcomed Him into Jerusalem with palm leaves mocked Him and spat on Him. He was convicted of blasphemy (which doesn't sound very significant today), which was considered like the scum of the earth. The degree of shame associated with blasphemy is probably the same degree of shame we associate with child molesters. Had I been in the crowd (and did not recognize Jesus as Christ), I probably would've mocked Him too.
Then there was the physical pain. Recall that the previous night, as He was praying on Gethsemane, He had sweated blood. (Luke 22:44) This is actually a rare condition called Hematohidrosis. It's caused by intense fear. Jesus was so stressed that His blood vessels hemorrhaged. Blood, then, flows into the sweat glands and exits through the sweat ducts. Sweat ducts are not designed to accommodate high volumes of liquid, so it would've been very uncomfortable. The condition leaves the skin very tender and any pressure or damage to the skin is more painful than usual. He also would've been very dehydrated and would experience hypovolemic shock, which is when you lose so much blood/fluids that your heart doesn't have enough blood to pump. This leads to organ failure. After that, Jesus would've been betrayed by Judas, and would've been dragged from trial to trial the whole night. Up to this point, He was weak from the hypovolemia, His skin is very sensitive, His organs are failing, and He wouldn't have gotten any sleep (b/c of the trials). Then the Roman guards decide to beat Him up just for kicks, stuff thorns into His scalp and spit on Him some more. After that, He gets whipped 39 times with the cat-of-nine-tails (9 leather whips in one, each with a sharp piece of bone at the end). Then the crowd sentences Him to crucifixion, which requires Him to carry the horizontal beam of the cross to Golgotha, which is 2 km away. Weak from the beating, whipping, and organ failure, He's unable to do this and falls on His chest, which probably severely bruised his chest and broke a couple ribs. (Some experts say it could also have caused an aneurysm) Then Roman guards nail His wrists and feet to the cross, hitting major nerves (pain sensors of the body) and dislocating His shoulders. And for three hours, as He stood on the cross, each one of His movements would stimulate His nerves and reopen His wounds. Jesus endured all this.
But that's just the physical pain. The physical pain was nothing compared to being abandoned by God. He spent His whole life with God the Father. Jesus, who was once Holy, was drenched in our sin. At that moment, Jesus literally held the weight of the world in His shoulders. And so, the Father couldn't be with Him. I can't imagine being abandoned by my own dad, much less by God the Father.
That is what Jesus did for us. He knew how much pain He would have to endure and still came. Jesus loves us and died for us. Never let that mean any less than it is.
Sonia
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