The Suffering and Death of Jesus

I think we would be remiss if we didn't thank our piano player. It's nice to be able to have someone who can play the piano and be here alive to do that. So the Mez family is welcome to come anytime, and we really appreciate them being here today. And I'd like to extend a warm welcome also to all of our guests as we do have a number here today. We appreciate you being here with us.

I find that I'm one or two sermons behind here in preparing for the days of Unleavened Bread and the Passover. So we're going to have to make sure that we cover the sermons that are absolutely applicable for the Passover as we prepare for that period of time. Brethren, what went through the mind of God at creation? There was a time when everything that we can know and sense physically did not exist. At one time, there were two beings that had existed in the universe, and they were the only ones who existed. And then they thought out the plan of salvation.

There had to be a time when God began to contemplate sharing life with and giving life to other beings who would be able to live on the same plane that He does and be able to live forever, eternity into the future. Now, prior to the physical creation, God created the angels, and He made those angels. Now, this was some time after the angels were created prior to the physical creation that God had created, because we find in the Bible that when the creation took place, the morning stars sang for joy. They rejoiced at the creation. Let's go back to 2 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 4, though. We find that sometime after God had created the heavens and the earth, that the angels, at least one third of them, sinned. One third of them rebelled against God. And we find described here in 2 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 4, 2 Peter 2, 4, says, For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell, or to Tartarus, Greek word meaning a place of restraint, so they were cast down to hell, or Tartarus, and delivered in the chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment. They are reserved for a period of time when they will be judged. So we find in the Old Testament that a great carob by the name of Lucifer rebelled against God. He apparently took one third of the angels with him in his rebellion.

You might remember years ago, Mr. Herbert Armstrong used to say, in some of the observations that he had about the creation of the angels, that their creation was dual. Their creation was not complete. They were created perfect, as the Bible indicates, but their character was not complete in them as yet.

They were not created sinful, but they were created where they were going to have to make a choice.

Just as you and I are created as individuals who have free moral agency, and we have to make a choice. We have a part in our salvation. We have to yield to God and be willing to obey. We have to choose to go the right way, resist the wrong way, and do what God has commanded. In a sense, they were unfinished. The creation was complete or finished when they made their choice.

So, at some point, instead of Lucifer and the third of the angels who followed him, instead of them saying, yes, we're going to follow God forever, he came up with a different way, a different approach. He thought he was smarter than God, and he rebelled against God. And they chose the wrong way. And so, you find that way of life being lived in the universe today by human beings because of Satan's influence and by Satan. Their whole motive is wrong.

They do not believe the way of love, the way of God, the way of his commandments are right.

They believe their own way, the way of selfishness, the way of vanity, the way of getting, is the right way. And the Bible shows, obviously, that that's wrong. Their character has now been set. I mean, they chose to go the wrong way. And their character is set. The other angels apparently chose to go the right way, and their character is set to go in that way.

Now, in Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8, we find an interesting Scripture dealing with the plan of God, Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8.

We read, "'All who dwell on the earth will worship him.'" This is talking about the beast that comes up out of the sea. "'Whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.'" So, from the time that the foundation of the world was laid, Jesus Christ was slain. So, does that mean that God knew that human beings would not always obey?

Well, it seems to indicate that, that He was from the very foundation of the world, that He was slain. Actually, quoting from the Jameson, Fawcett, and Brown commentary, it says, the Greek order of the words favor this translation. Quote, "'He was slain in the Father's eternal counsel.'" And then it says, compare this with 1 Peter, which we will do here in a minute. So, what you find is that Jesus Christ was slain from the foundation of the world.

God knew that He would create the human race, but He knew that the human race would have, let's say, the desire to go under the influence of Satan, the devil, in the wrong way. That man could sin, and that if he did, that there would have to be a sacrifice. And so, you find that God planned for that. So, when Adam and Eve were put in the garden of Eden, they rebelled. That did not come as a shock to God. He was not just totally flabbergasted. Now, what do we do?

And started wringing His hands. Now, there had been a contingency for this from the very beginning. In 1 Peter, let's notice chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 20. Well, let's back up to verse 19. It talks about how that we are redeemed in verse 19. With the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, that Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God, that He had no sins. And so, therefore, He was a lamb without blemish and without spot. Notice, He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

So, the new Revised Standard Version translates as verse, He was destined before the foundation of the earth, but was revealed at the end of the age for your sake. So, brethren, we find that God has a plan. And in that plan, God realized in creating human beings.

And you might ask yourself, why did God create us physical? Why are you and I physical? You see, when the angels chose to go the wrong way, their spirit. And so, from everything that we know, they will continue to live. But you and I are physical. Why, if a physical human being rejects God's way, God's plan, His purpose, well, they can be thrown in the lake of fire and destroy, cease to live.

But those who choose to go the right way can be given eternal life and live forever. So, God created this physical with the idea that He wanted to give every one, every human being the opportunity for eternal life. Those who rejected would not have to live in misery and suffering forever, but could cease to exist.

Those who choose to go His way will be able to live forever. So, the Bible clearly states, as we will see, that this was planned from the beginning and also from the beginning that the Messiah would come. And when He came, that He would die for our sins and He would have to suffer. Let's go over here to 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18, while we're in the book of Peter. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 18. And notice what the Bible indicates about Jesus Christ.

It says, For Christ also suffered once for sins. He's not continuing to suffer. He suffered once, but just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit. So, He was God in the flesh, and He became God in the flesh so that He could die. But then, He has been made alive by God's Spirit. Now, in chapter 4 verse 1, notice, it says, Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, so He suffered. Arm yourselves also with the same mind, for He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

So, Jesus Christ suffered in the flesh for us. Now, in Luke chapter 24, beginning in verse 25, Luke 24 and verse 25, we find that there are many references in the Bible concerning what Christ, the Messiah, was going to have to go through. And in verse 25, He said to them, O foolish ones, slow of heart to believe, and all that the prophets have spoken. Alt not the Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory.

He's talking about the crucifixion, the scourging, the physical death that Christ, that He Himself had gone through. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them and all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. So, He explained from the Scriptures all of the prophecies about what the Messiah would have to go through and the suffering that He would go through. Jesus Christ, when He came to the earth, was very much aware of those prophecies. He was the one who had inspired all the prophets. He and the Father had sat down ahead of time and planned the fact that He would be slain. He knew that that was coming in the future. And the very fact that He came to the earth as a human being, He knew He was just that much closer to it. In fact, when He was born, He was only 33 and a half years away from having to die. So, as each year clicked off, each decade went by, each year His ministry disappeared. He got closer and closer to the time that the plan of salvation was designed for. That there had to be a Savior. There had to be an atonement. There had to be one who would give His life for all humanity, and that was Christ. Notice in verse 44 here before we move on. Verse 44, Luke 24, says, Then He said to them, These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms concerning Me. So they had predicted what would happen, and He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures. And He said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ, for the Messiah, to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.

So He prophesied that. Now in Acts 17, beginning in verse 2, Acts 17, in verse 2, we find that Paul, as his custom was, went into them for three Sabbaths. He reasoned with them from the Scriptures. Now verse 3, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, saying, This Jesus whom I preached to you is the Christ. So Jesus was the one, the Messiah. So you find clearly the Bible indicates His suffering. The prophets had foretold that the Messiah would come to the earth, that He would suffer, but that He would be resurrected. Why? Why did He do this? Philippians 2 in verse 5 gives us an overall glimpse. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5.

We're told, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. So you and I are to have the mind, the attitude, and the approach Christ had. Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. Now if you'll notice the margin for verse 6, or it says, or something to be held onto to be equal with God, you find there was the Father and the one that we know as Christ, two beings in the God family at that point. Christ did not hold on to His privileges of divinity. He was a spirit being. He had all power. God had used Him to create everything. He had given life. He was the one who was sustaining the universe. So He didn't just hold on to that, as verse 7 says, but He made Himself of no reputation. And again, the margin says He emptied Himself of His privileges.

He had the privilege of having lived forever, being a spirit being. He emptied Himself of that.

Taking the form of a bondservant, He became a human being. He was God in the flesh. He was the Son of God. He was the Son of man. He was born of a woman, but His Father was God.

Coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So Christ was obedient in the plan of God. He was the one who was going to come. He was the one who was going to die for the sins of man. Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him, giving Him a name. That means a position, a name, a responsibility, which is above every name, that He has an exalted name and position above anyone else. So we need to reflect on what Christ did. Rather than as we approach the Passover season every year, we need to stop and think about what a great Savior we have, what a wonderful blessing it is to know God's way of life and what Jesus Christ did for us.

Christ was made human so that He could be subject to pain and suffering, that He would die for mankind.

That's one thing that's common to all human beings, is a nut.

You stop and think of the most painful experience that you've ever gone through.

What's the most painful thing that you have personally suffered?

It could be a burn. It could be a car wreck. It could be a broken bone. It could be childbirth.

People have suffered from cancer, from illnesses, from war, from starvation, mutilation, martyrdom, you name it, the human race. Over the last 6,000 years, millions of people have suffered and died. Well, Christ suffered. Jesus Christ, as our high priest today, knows what it's like to be human, knows what it's like to get tired, knows what it's like to suffer. When we suffer, we have a sickness or an illness. He's not unresponsive. He knows exactly what we've gone through. Christ suffered greatly as God in the flesh. In Acts chapter 3 and verse 14, we read again here in the book of Acts what Christ went through. Acts chapter 3 and verse 14, you find preaching to the Jews here, to the leaders. It says, but you denied the Holy One, the just, and asked for a murderer be granted to you. They asked that Christ be crucified, and they wanted Barabbas to be saved. And you killed the prince of life, or as the margin says, the originator of life, the one who gave life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And his name, and through faith in his name, he made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through him has given this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as it also your rulers. And human beings down through the ages have disobeyed God out of ignorance. They have known the truth. They have had their minds open to know the right way.

But, verse 18 says, but those things which God foretold by the mouth of all of his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled. So everything that the prophets said would happen, happened, Christ fulfilled it. Therefore, what are we supposed to do while repent and be converted? You and I are to repent. We are to change. So all of the prophets from Moses on down foretold about Christ. Isaiah chapter 53 is just one example of what the prophets prophesied, beginning to read here in verse 3. Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 3.

Sometimes we read over these things and they just are words to us. But what if these were our words?

You stop and think. What if this were describing you or me? Our pains, our thoughts, our emotions.

We have to realize that this is talking about a man, a Messiah, Jesus Christ. Verse 3 says, he is despised and rejected of men. The word rejected means forsaken. A man of sorrows, or a man of pain, and acquainted with grief, or acquainted with sickness. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs, meaning our sicknesses, and carried our sorrows, or our pains. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was pierced through, as the margin says, for our transgressions. And he was bruised, or crushed, for our iniquities. And the chastisement for our peace was upon him. And by his stripes we are healed. And we, like sheep, have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. Every human being has followed the way that seems right in his own eyes. But that way is a way of death. And the Lord is laid on him, the iniquity of us all. So our iniquities, our sins, were all laid on him. Christ suffered for us. His sacrifice is personal. Our sins caused it. We have to stop and think, if we were the only human being alive, someone would have to die for our sins. And Christ was willing to do so. He was willing to step in and be that sacrifice. So we need to stop and think of it from a personal perspective. What Christ went through is for us. We can all think of human beings, people who do terrible things, horrible, horrendous sins. You can think of the Hitlers and the Stylons and all of these type of people. But we have to think of ourselves that all of us have sinned.

We've all fallen short of the glory of God. And so we have to repent. Let's take a look today at what Christ had to go through, what he had to suffer. As the Bible says, he suffered. In John 13, we find the night of the final Passover that Jesus Christ changed the symbols, but he also instituted something different that they had not done prior to this. In the Old Testament Passover, you find that this was not a ritual that was done, but Christ instituted it. And let's notice he institutes the foot washing here, but I just want to focus on one verse, verse 1, chapter 13. Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew, now what did he know? He knew that his hour had come. He knew that this was it. There was no more a millennium into the future. There was no more a hundred years. There was no more 33 years. No more three years. It had come. This was the day. This was the time that the whole plan of God revolved around. The whole plan of God was going to either succeed or fail at this point, because he had to fulfill those scriptures and to die for mankind. And so Jesus knew that his hour had come that he would depart from the world to the Father, having loved his own. He loved who were in the world. He loved them to the end. And so you find here that Christ knew that he was going to die. In Mark chapter 14, we'll be skipping back and forth here in the Gospels, but in Mark chapter 14 verse 22, we find that on that evening, after Christ had instituted the foot washing service, the service of humility, that he changed the symbols of the Passover. Instead of going out and killing a lamb that evening, we take the bread and the wine. And in verse 22, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, he blessed it, he broke it, he gave it to them and said, Take eat, this is my body. Whereas this bread symbolizes my body. And so it was broken, just as his body was to be broken. Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

And so Jesus Christ then said that the wine symbolized his blood being shed. This is why the symbols were changed. Because Christ knew he was going to shed his blood, he knew his body was going to be broken that day. The closer you get to some horrible form of death, the harder it is to face it and to deal with it. Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. He had come to the earth for this purpose, but he was still human. None of us like to be suffered or like to suffer. What if you knew for certain that when you went out of this hall today, that somebody was going to take you and beat you alive, or boil you in oil, or skin you, or flay you, and you do something of this nature. You wouldn't be looking forward to going out that door. There would be a certain fear and trepidation. Now, Christ understood that he had to die for the sins of mankind. That was never a question. But let's notice in Luke 22, beginning in verse 39. Luke 22 verse 39, they observed the Passover. He changed the symbols. He instituted a new symbol of the foot-washing service. They left the hall. They went out, and Christ began to pray. He prayed three times for an hour each time.

Here in chapter 22, beginning in verse 39, coming out, he went to the Mount of Olives, and as he was accustomed, his disciples also followed him. He came to the place, he said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation, and he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw. And he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. So what was he asking? Well, he knew he had to die.

His blood had to be shed. But he was not, let's say, real excited about the beating, the suffering, the scourging, all of that that he was going to have to go through. So he said, take this cup from me. If we can do it without having to go through that, good. But he said, not my will, not what I want, but what you want. An angel appeared to him from heaven and strengthened him. And then being in agony, notice it says, agony, he prayed more earnestly.

Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. So Jesus Christ began to sweat or perspire blood. Well, this is a medical condition. It's called hematudrosis.

It's a condition when a person is under tremendous emotional stress that the tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break. And they mingle with the perspiration. And when a person perspires, he can begin to also bleed. And it produces weakness and shock within an individual.

Well, this is what Jesus Christ went through. Three times he asked the Father, if you can remove this cup, please do. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. And you find that God says, no, this is the way it was predicted. This is the way we plan. This is the way we will do it. And so Jesus Christ, once he rose, he realized that this is what he was going to have to face. In chapter 22, beginning in verse 47, you find Christ being arrested. It says, And while he was still speaking, behold the multitude, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before him and drew near to Jesus and kissed him. And Jesus said to him, Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? So he knew, obviously, what was going on. Verse 53. Verse 53 here. When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize me, but this is your hour and the power of darkness.

And having arrested him, they led him and brought him into the high priest's house, but Peter followed at a distance. So Christ said, you know, this is your hour.

He knew that he was going to be turned over to them. The power of darkness. See, Satan may have thought that he was getting the upper hand here, but without realizing it, God was fulfilling the whole plan of salvation. There had to be a sacrifice for sin. And it had to be one whose life was perfect, whose life was more important than all human beings who ever lived or will ever live, who could die for all of us so that our sins could be forgiven. He was brought before Ananias.

Let's go over to John 18 in verse 12, where we'll begin to go through the sequence of events that evening. John 18, beginning in verse 12. Then the detachment of troops and the captains and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. And they led him away to Anas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiapas, who was a high priest that year. Now it was this Caiapas who had advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. Now in verse 19, the high priest then asked Jesus about his disciples and his doctrine. And Jesus answered, I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet. In secret, I have said nothing. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. Indeed, they know what I said. Then in verse 22, when he had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Do you answer the high priest like this? Now here it says, struck with his palm. Literally, it means with a blow. It could be a fist. It could be a club, a rod, or a whip.

Now he may have backhanded it, or he may have had a rod or something and hit Christ with it, but he struck him. You find this was the beginning of the physical suffering that Christ was going to go through. He had already gone through the mental agony of struggling with what he was about to face. Christ goes on and you find in verse 24, Anas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Now in Mark 14, beginning in verse 53, we find where he appears before the high priest. Chapter 14 and verse 53, it says, He led Jesus away to the high priest, and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.

And Peter followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and all of the council sought testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but found none. They're trying to find something to accuse him of. Normally, somebody does something wrong, and then you arrest him.

You don't arrest him and then try to find a charge, but you see, they weren't concerned about justice. They were just simply concerned about getting rid of him.

Verse 56, For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.

Then some rose up and bore false witness against him, saying, We heard him said, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But even then their testimony did not agree.

Verse 60, And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Do you answer nothing? What is it that these men testify against you? And he kept silent and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked him, saying to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

And Jesus said, I am. And notice, not only just I am, but I am as the name of God, as we know from the Old Testament. He said, I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And then the high priest tore his clothes and said, What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blaspheme. What do you think? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death.

Then some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, to beat him, to say to him, prophesied, and the officers struck him with the palms of their hands.

So how would you like to be falsely accused, which he was, of people spitting in your face, blindfold you, buffeted, have blows, people backhanding you and hitting you with rods, saying, Okay, you're the Messiah. Tell us, which one of us did this? Jearing, making fun of him, and ridiculing him. Well, this is why Christ, the Messiah, the Maker of the whole earth, mankind, had to suffer through. Now, in Isaiah 50, my just dart back here in verse 6, it describes what Christ went through at this time. It says, I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. Now, most people had a beard back at this time. They were coming up and they were pulling the hairs out of his face. And I did not hide my face from shame and spitting.

So, this is one of those prophecies of the suffering that the Messiah would have to go through. And here we find in Mark's account the fulfillment of that. Now, back in Luke 22, Luke 22, beginning in verse 66. Luke 22 in verse 66. We find the same thing basically, being mentioned. I'll just summarize this through verse 71. They formally condemned him, the Sanhedrin condemned him to death. And then in chapter 23, he's brought before Pilate. Chapter 23 verse 1. Then the whole multitude of them arose, led him to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ the King. So therefore, they accused him.

And then Pilate asked him, saying, Are you the king of the Jews? He answered and said, It is as you've said. Yes, just what you said. That's right. So here you have Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. Early morning, being brought before Pilate, he'd been battered all night, bruised, dehydrated. He was hungry. He was exhausted. He had had a sleepless night. He had been made to stand, ridiculed, spit on. All of this going on all through the night.

And now finally, he's there before them. So Pilate said to the chief priests in verse 4, and to the crowd, I find no fault in this man. What law is he broken? What crime is he committed? And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place. Now we begin to find the reason why they were against him, because he began to have more of a following than they did. And he was stirring up the people, they said. And so he was looked upon as competition. In verse 6, when Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the man were a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had desired for a long time to see him, because he had heard many things about him. And he hoped to see some miracle done by him. So here comes Christ. Oh boy, I'm going to see some miracles. And he questioned him with many words, but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes stood and vehemently accused him. Then Herod, with his men of war, treated him with contempt, mocked him, arrayed him in a glorious robe, sent him back to Pilate. And that very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they'd been in enmity with each other. You see, there's some politics going on here. Pilate trying to get on the good side of Herod, and so in this particular case, it had worked. So here you find they mock Christ, they ridicule him, they make fun of him. And you can imagine Roman soldiers standing around, what they might have said and how they might have treated Christ. In John 19, verse 1, is a simple scripture that has so much meaning. Chapter 19, verse 1 of John.

So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. Took Jesus and scourged him. A scourging was one of the most brutal beatings that a human being could ever go through.

Basically, they stripped a person of his clothing. It was either stripped naked or just a little loin cloth. Your hands would be tied to a post, and generally you would be spread-eagled. They had a man who was trained to do this. He was called a lyctor, the Roman lyctor. He was trained in how to use the flagrum, which was a whip. It had a special whip.

We've all heard of the term cat of nine tails. Well, this was a whip that had anywhere between 12 and 19 different strips to it. They had glass or steel or ivory, anything that was sharp, on the ends. They would take this whip and they would wrap it around the person. Just as all of those 19 different parts would go around, they would jerk it. It would just absolutely lacerate and cut and rip a person to bits. As I said, the Roman lyctor was a specialist in this. He knew exactly how to do this. They would beat a person from the head to the toes. Generally, 39 times, you would do this thing. The first cuts would just simply go through the skin. Then it would get down into subcutaneous deposits into the muscles. You would begin to have oozing of blood and water coming out of the body, spurting arteries bleeding from the muscles. Skin would be hanging in ribbons. A person would be an unrecognizable mass of bleeding tissue.

That's what Jesus Christ went through. When the Bible says, by His stripes, we are healed, these were the stripes that it's referring to. This is the beating that He went through. You might hold your place here in John, as we'll come back here, but let's go back to Isaiah 52.

Isaiah 52 verse 13, which describes what Jesus Christ went through at this time. Here's the prophecy. Christ fulfilled this prophecy. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Verse 14, and just as many as were astonished that you, so that His visage was marred more than any man. Or as the margin says, His visage, or His appearance, was unlike a man, and is farmed more than the sons of men. And so He shall sprinkle many nations. And so you'll find that Jesus Christ was beaten. And then when you come back and read again here, verses 4 and 5 in chapter 53, let's notice, you begin to understand a little more about what Christ went through and what these verses picture. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, and yet we have seen Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed by the scourging that He went through. So Jesus Christ, after being up all night, was scourged.

And then coming back to John 19 and verse 2 again, you find that they had scourged Him. And then the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple road.

Ever had a thorn stick in your hand or foot somewhere? You know how much that hurts? How would you like a crown of thorns up here on the scalp, which is very tender, just somebody jamming that on the top of your head? And then they mocked Him and Pilate brings Him out and said, I don't find any fault with Him. If you don't find fault with somebody, why do you allow Him to be scourged? Scourging was called the half-death. It was meant to leave a person lame and afflicted for the rest of his life. You just never really recovered from that. Now in verse 5, notice, Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple, and Pilate said to them, behold the man. Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, crucify Him, crucify Him. And Pilate said to them, you take Him in crucifying, for I find no fault in Him. And the Jews answered, we have a law. According to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God. And so they screamed and yelled, you have a mob. We've all seen motion pictures where you have a mob, maybe a hanging or something of this nature. A mob gets whipped up and they come and they yelled, crucify Him. And so, verse 15, they cried out, away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him. And Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king? And the chief priests answered, we have no king but Caesar. Then he delivered Him to be crucified. And so they took Jesus and led Him away. And he, bearing his cross, went to a place called the Place of the Skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha. Now, he apparently had the arm beam. You know, a big pole with the arm beam would be quite heavy to carry. Normally, you'd have an arm beam, you know, that you would carry on your shoulders. And verse 18 says, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, on either side, in Jesus in the center. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Now, it was 650 yards from the fortress Antonio, where he had been tried, beaten, to Golgotha.

650 yards, that's six and a half football fields. That's quite a distance to walk with the beating that Christ had gone through, and partially having to carry this wood stake.

And then verse 18, as we read here, they crucified Him. We know that crucifixion was, again, one of the more horrible forms of punishment and death. The Assyrians, Phoenicians, Persians, all practice crucifixion. The Greek, during the Hellenistic time, used crucifixion. The Romans adopted, first of all, as a form of punishment back in the first century. So, initially, it was a punishment, not an execution. However, many of you will remember the movie Spartacus. With the revolt of Spartacus in 71 BC, there were 6,000 rebels who were crucified at that time. And you might remember the scene. Not that it happened exactly that way, but they did take the rebels and crucify them.

In 7 AD, 2,000 Jews were crucified in Jerusalem. We know that during the time that Titus sieged Jerusalem in 70 AD, when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Roman troops crucified as many as 500 Jews a day. Any Jew who tried to escape and get through the lines and who was caught was taken out and crucified. Jews were crucified for as far as the eye could see from the city of Jerusalem at that particular time. There was an article that appeared, I believe it was back around 1985, in the biblical archaeological magazine I have a copy of it, found on page 44, that describes crucifixion. And they found archaeological evidence of a crucifixion. They found two ankle bones with a 7.5 inch long nail driven through them. And what happened is this nail was driven into a knot. And so when they took the berry of the person, they could not pull the nail out of the knot.

And so apparently they just amputated the feet and left the nail stuck in there.

And basically what it showed with the crucifixion, they had different ways. They had the upright stake. They had what we would call the T. They had a circle where they'd put a person on a wheel.

There were various ways that they would crucify people. But the normal way was to put them on either an upright pole or what we would call a T. And they would take a square nail and they would cross the wrist and they would drive that nail through the wrist and would hit the minion nerve. Now, you've got nerves in this area, as many of you know. And then they would do the same thing in the ankles. They would cross the ankles and they would drive a square nail through that, through the metatarsal bones in the feet. Now, the way a person would normally die at a crucifixion, they would have great waves of cramps and their muscles would not up.

Because here they're hanging, they would leave just a little space. You know, they wouldn't just stretch you out where you could sort of heave yourself up because a person would normally die as the asphyxiation. Couldn't breathe. So you're hanging down and the pain is so bad on your wrist that you push yourself up on your ankles and you can get a breath. But then the pain becomes so excruciating on the ankles that you sag back down. So there's this constant sagging up and down. Normally, if nothing, no intervention took place, a person would die within two or three hours after being crucified. Now, to prolong the agony, because sometimes a person could last for two or three days, they would do two things. They would put a small seat called a sidle.

It was often pointed on the end where the person could sort of sit down. Now, where you could get a little relief, but you would slip off of it. They also had a foot support that the person could use. These were not merciful. They were just meant to leave the person hanging there, suffering longer. They would try to sit. They would try to stand and slip off. It would just prolong the agony for two or three days. Now, if you remember, it was the preparation day.

The Sabbath was coming on, and so, as a result, they could not leave these bodies hanging on the stake. Let's hold your place again in John. Let's go back to Psalm chapter 22. Psalm chapter 22 actually describes the thoughts of Jesus Christ as He was going through this.

The 23rd Psalm also takes on greater meaning when you realize it follows chapter 22 here.

That Christ would look to God as His shepherd to guide Him and to lead Him. In chapter 22, beginning in verse 6, it says, I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head, saying, He trusted in the Lord. Let Him rescue Him. Let Him deliver Him, since He delighted in Him. Then in verse 12, it says, Many bulls have surrounded Me. Strong bulls of ation have encircled Me.

They gape at Me with their mouths like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like the water, and all My bones are out of joint. Now, He did not have a bone broken, but His bones were out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within Me. My strength dries up like a potchard. My tongue clings to My jaws. You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me. The congregation of the wicked have encircled or enclosed Me. They pierce My hands and My feet, and I can count all of My bones. So when Christ could look down and see Himself hanging on the stake, His bones were exposed. He could see His leg bones, His arm bones. He could see His ribs.

They look and stare at Me, and they divide My garment among them. For My clothing they cast lots. And so, you find what Christ was thinking as He went through this.

Now, when you come back here to John chapter 19, in verse 31, notice in John 19.31, it says, Therefore, because it was a preparation day, and that the body should not remain on the cross, on the Sabbath, that Sabbath was a high day.

The Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. Now, why break them? Well, you couldn't heed yourself. You would die of an asphyxiation, so they couldn't heed themselves up and down anymore. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that He was already dead, and did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with the spear.

And the implication is, they had pierced His side. This is the reason He died.

You might remember Christ cried out when they pierced His side, and it says He gave up the Spirit. And immediately, blood and water came out. And so you'll find Christ died of a spear wound. One of the Roman soldiers came and rammed the spear into His side, and He bled to death.

And Christ died. Now, archaeology has also unearthed a Jewish man who was found, apparently who had been crucified, and his shin bones were shattered. They had been brutally fractured, and they were in large, sharp slithers, so that there was no way that He could stand on them. And this is what they would do. Jesus died of a spear wound because the Bible says that He poured out His blood. You can read the rest of Isaiah 53. It describes Christ shedding His blood so that our sins could be forgiven. So, brethren, why did Christ suffer? Why did He die? He did it for you, for me, because we have sinned. You and I also need healing. By His stripes, we're healed.

He bore our pains. He knows what it's like. He can be a merciful high priest to us. So, when we take the Passover, we come Passover night, and we see that bread, the Unleavened Bread, being broken. It symbolizes Christ's body that was broken. And we take that little wine, and we drink it. It symbolizes Christ shedding His blood so that our sins could be forgiven. So, we need to take the Passover with understanding of how great that sacrifice truly was. Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. He was willing to die for us. He suffered so that our sins would be forgiven, and that we might then be able to receive the Holy Spirit. God has a plan that He's been working out from the very beginning, and in that plan, one of the members of the family of God had to die, had to be a sacrifice, so that our sins could be forgiven, that we could be reconciled to God, and that we might receive the Holy Spirit and have the opportunity to eventually be in His Kingdom forever through the resurrection, and live forever with God in the family of God.

So, brethren, how wonderful, how great is God's plan! And we need to realize what a great price was paid to make it possible.