The Sacrifice of Love

Have you ever truly stopped to think about the sacrifice that Jesus made when He decided to die on the Cross? I have been a Christian for 22 years, and I don't think until today I truly comprehended what He did.

In Matthew 27:26-53 you can see what He went through for our salvation from sin.

First, He was scourged. Scourging consisted of being beaten with a whip that had pieces of glass, bone or metal attached to the ends so that when the ends met flesh, they tore through down to the bone. He did this for our salvation from sickness and disease.. Then the soldiers and people mocked Him by placing a heavy robe over the back that was now sliced into ribbons of agony. Picture getting a sunburn and having a heavy coat resting on your tender skin. Now you can only imagine what pain He was in already. The cruelty and humiliation continues. They placed a crown of thorns on His head. A more apt description would be they jammed a crown of thorns (with thorns that were approximately two inches long!) into His head. More mockery (remember, He is the King of all kings and He deigned to endure the mockery for our salvation), then they spat on Him. Imagine how much spit hurts in a little papercut, picture that intensified a thousand times. Think about how disgusting and degrading it would be to be spit upon by people. To be hated so intensely. After that, the whole Roman soldier garrison beat Him on the head with a reed. A big, thick reed. These soldiers were used to torture, they had perfected the art of it. Picture being beat over the head (which is still being punctured with a crown of thick thorns) with a thick stick by trained burly, unfeeling men. After that, they tore the robe off of His back and put His other clothes back on Him. They brought Him to Golgotha (the Place of a Skull) and they gave Him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. He refused to drink it once He had tasted a little. The wine mixed with gall would have acted as a painkiller, dulling the pain a little. He refused it because He wanted to feel every bit of agony, for us.

The Scripture then just says four words..."then they crucified Him." Those four words cannot begin to detail what crucifixion consisted of. The soldiers didn't hoist the victim up to the cross and then nail them to it. No, they started with the cross on the ground, pounded the spikes (think railroad-tie nails) into the person's feet and wrists. Into places of the body where there would be enough bone to hold them up on the cross. Then the Roman soldiers would hoist the cross up and drop it into a hole that had been pre-dug. Imagine how much more flesh was ripped off His back as the rough bark from the cross scraped up against it. Stop and think a bit about how the rusty, blood-stained nails shredded the nerves and tendons in His feet and hands. Yet He endured, for us. I cannot even picture the agony that must have sent shockwaves through His tortured body. And then He hung there for hours. Unending pain.

Blood dripping into His eyes, nose and mouth. His arms tire from trying to hold Himself up to breathe. Laboring for each precious breath. The feet that had traveled all over healing the sick, now were nailed to a rough tree. The hands that had tenderly reached out to the lost and dying, now clenched in agony.

What was on His mind, those hours He spent hanging there? You were, and I was. He did it for us. Would you have given yourself over to be sentenced to death in this manner for those who would spurn your love and sacrifice? I surely would have not. But that is the beauty of grace. He did it even when we didn't deserve it.

" For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17

The physical agony was nothing compared to the emotional agony he would endure as well. He was abandoned by God while He hung on the cross. God had to turn away from the sin that clung to His son as He paid the price of redemption for our souls. Imagine being with the person you love most, then imagine if they turned their back as you were put through horrible physical and mental anguish. They had the power to stop all of that with one word, yet they said nothing. Did nothing.
Jesus too, could have stopped all of His suffering with one word. Yet He endured for your sake and for mine.

And then He gave up His spirit and died.

Are tears running down your face as they are mine? I cannot comprehend why He did this all for me! How many times do I disappoint Him, how many times do I refuse to listen to His voice? How many times will I miss the mark? And yet, knowing all of this, He still went to the cross for me. For my sin. For my shame. For my shortcomings. For my pain.

But there is more, it doesn't end here! He was resurrected and lives!

My Savior and Redeemer is alive and He loves me! And He loves you! He died and rose again so that we could be free from the penalty that our sins demanded.

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 10:9-10

It's that simple. He went through all of that, and all we have to do is believe and confess and it's done.

Thank You Jesus, for the sacrifice that You made for me. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You. I believe that Your death and resurrection is the only way I can be saved. And Your Name is the only name that I can be redeemed by. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me from everything I have done that has not glorified You. I want to live my life for You. I confess You as my Savior, my Lord and my Master. Take rule over my life, I give it to You. Thank You for making me a new person on the inside. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins. Thank You for Your grace that covers me. I love you Jesus.