Good Friday

This Friday marks an important day in history. If you're a Christian, you know of this day, and what it means. If you're not, you might find out if you continue reading. I find this weekend to be the most significant time in all of creation: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the story of Good Friday. We'll start with Jesus’ trial. This moment is a sad one from the very beginning. THE TRIAL Jesus needs to be taken care of, from the Romans’ perspective. Pilate (an important Roman figure) decides there is nothing wrong with Jesus, so he doesn't directly do anything. Jesus is instead put next to another prisoner, and a crowd of people are given a choice. A choice. They have to choose who gets to go free, and who gets punished. On the one hand, you have Jesus. He is the perfect and holy physical presence of God, completely without sin. There is absolutely nothing you could condemn him for. On the other hand, you have Barabbas. Barabbas is a violent criminal. So who is going to be set free? Barabbas? Or Jesus? Matthew 27:21 (NKJV) “The governor answered and said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release to you?’ They said, ‘Barabbas!’” They said Barabbas. This criminal is being released, having done all kinds of crimes. He is a dangerous person, but he is set free. The criminal is set free. The sinner is set free. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Matthew 27:22 (NKJV) “Pilate said to them, ‘What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said to him, ‘Let Him be crucified!’” They condemned him to death. The only person who was without sin, who was perfect, was condemned to death. Not just any death though. (Reader discretion advised. Descriptive Violence.) THE TORTURE If you haven't really gone into the story, you might be thinking “Oh, so then he just goes to the cross and resurrects, right?” Yes, it's true, but there are some details still to cover. Matthew 27:26 (NKJV) “Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.” Keyword there: Scourged. This was a type of whipping. But it wasn't any whip. Not leather, not rope, not any of that. He was whipped with something called a flagrum. This was a whip with several leather strands, with bone, glass, metal, or anything sharp they could find tied on those strands. Its purpose? To rip flesh in patches off of bone. They would have the prisoner tied to a pole, and start latching the flagrum onto their back, pulling it across their body, and watch them suffer in pain and agony. Doing this would often reveal bone and organs. This process usually kills a person with about 40 lashes. Jesus was given 39. The Romans gave him the absolute most pain they could – without killing him. Isaiah 52:14 (NKJV) “Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men.” This moment was foretold, and it described how Jesus looked. His appearance was disfigured so much he was unrecognizable. Imagine looking down on yourself and seeing your bones. Do you feel it? And that was just the beginning. Matthew 27:28–29 (NKJV) “And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” After the lashes, some Roman guards came to humiliate him further. They put a robe on him and crafted a crown of thorns. They went to put it on his head. They didn't just set it on his head though. They jammed it into his skull. They mocked him. This was yet another painful process. They removed the robe and sent him down to be delivered to the cross. Now, imagine what Jesus felt, as far as pain, after the scourging. They put a robe on him. Have you ever had a wound that hurt when it touched clothing? Imagine this. Ever ripped off a band-aid? Imagine ripping off this robe off of the exposed flesh and bone. All this before the crucifixion itself. Matthew 27:31–33 (NKJV) “And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.” Jesus was in such a bad condition, physically unable to carry his cross, he needed the help of another man. Now, this wasn't just a walk through town. This was several miles, where they were having Jesus carry his own cross (until he couldn't). The pieces for the cross weigh around 75lbs. THE CRUCIFIXION If you are reading this on desktop, and I start describing the nails going into Jesus’ hands, you might feel especially aware of the palms of your own over the mousepad or on the mouse. Same on mobile if you are holding your phone. But that isn't exactly the case. The nails didn't go through his palms. Go lower. Just a little. Right below the wrist. Yeah, you feel it now, don't you? The perfect killing device, made to maximize pain. A Roman specialty. The nails got pounded into his wrists. Each. Hammer. Strike. Now the same goes for the feet. Everyone stand up and cross your ankles. Not your feet. Your ankles. Right where your shins/ankles intersect. Yeah. Hearing about this always gets me emotional. Then you have him hanging on the cross. When you are on there, you have three points keeping you there, with all of your weight pushing on your legs on that single nail. To prevent that much weight pulling and pushing on your arms and feet, you have to lift yourself up using your arms, again, pulling on the nails. Rubbing your exposed back against the splinters of the wood behind you. You proceed to hang there. Jesus hung there. It took some people days to die. Imagine that. Matthew 27:35–50 (NKJV) “Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: ‘They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.’ Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, “I am the Son of God.”’ Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, ‘This Man is calling for Elijah!’ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded his spirit."