Today at youth group, we talked about what Jesus went through when He died on the cross. Usually when we think of His death, we think of a couple whip marks a few nails and a little crown of thorns. It was so much more than that. They didn't just whip Jesus. They stripped Him down naked and while he was bent over a stump, they took a whip that was 9 long pieces of leather and at the end of those pieces, there were nails, and glass, and metal. Those sharp things would get caught in His skin and the soldiers had to yank them out of His back. They did this over and over and over again until His whole back side, from his shoudlers to his feet, were baisically strips of flesh hanging off of His bones.
He endured this for me and for you!
The soldiers beat Him until He was hardly recognizable. His beard was probably ripped from His face!
The crown of thorns that they put on His head weren't the little thorns you find on a rose steam, they were thorns 2 to 3 inches long. And it wasn't just put on His head, they were shoved onto His head.
Then they nailed Him to a cross. Did you know that when you are hung from a cross, all the bones in your body are dislocated?? Did you know, that when you are hanging from a cross, you can't breath unless you push yourself up to inhale and then relax to exhale??? Jesus did that for 6 hours. 6 hours! And I thought running for 6 minutes in gym class was painful. Did you know that at one point while hanging there, the soldiers offered Him a mixture to drink that would soften the pain but Jesus refused it because He wanted to feel all the pain, for me and for you?
And all this time, He had a picture of me, and you in His mind. He was doing this for us. Because He loves us. And because He wants us to be with Him in Heaven for eternity. No matter what we have done or will do in the future. He did all of that for me and for you. I don't know about you, but I feel like I owe Him my life. I don't feel like that because of obligation or guilt, but because I know He loves me and I love Him. I will do anything for someone I love. I am heartbroken for those people who see God as a god who doesn't care about us. Who just sits on His throne and yells at us. No. He is a God of love and mercy and hope. He sent Jesus Christ because He loves us. I want to give Him my life after what He did for me and for you.
