Good Friday 2026

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The English language is a funny thing.

If you speak to a non-native English speaker, they will probably tell you that our language is very hard to learn.

We have multiple spellings of similarly pronounced words.

We have silent letters that make no sense phonetically.

We parse verbs in a very unique way, which a lot of times makes no sense when translated to other languages.

We also have a lot of literary devices that don’t make sense when translated either.

For instance, the oxymoron. At face value, oxymorons are simple, sometimes humorous or light-hearted phrases we use in everyday language, but when you take a closer look, you come to find that they really are illogical at best.

As a classic example, “Jumbo Shrimp.”

How about “Original Copy”?

Or what about “Only Choice”?

These all make sense to us because for years we’ve all used them, and even though, when broken down into their two contrary parts, we understand that when used together, they mean something very specific.

So when we say “Good Friday”, like these oxymorons, we instinctively understand the meaning behind the term.

Now, to be clear, Good Friday is not an oxymornon in the true sense, it’s what we would cal an archaism. Meaning, it is a term that has evolved over the past few centruies to take on its current form.

However, like an oxymoron, we understand what it means. We’ve used the designation for this day as long as we have been affiliated iwth teh church or as long as we have been walking with God.

So to us English speakers, there is no ambiguity in the meaning.

However, like the oxymornons we use every day, the desingation “Good Friday” can easily slip into the category of simple, English terminology. We can say it, like so many other phrases and terms, and forget about its deeper meaning.

We know why today is good from a Chrisitian point of view, but do we understand the weight of those words in respect to the things that had to take place to make this day good in the deepest sense of that word?

This is just my opinion, but I think society has become very lazy, for the most part, in our use of words.

There are over 1,000,000 words in the English language, which include all the technical, obsolete, and niche words.

Webster’s New International Dictionary contains 470,000 entries, while the Oxford Dictionary contains 117,000 that are still in use today.

However, the average 20 year old in America only knows about 42,000 words, which might seem like a lot, but generally only really accesses 15,000 at most, and more generally, they only ever use about 3,000 of them 95% of the time.

Words are cheap. We have hundreds of thousands of them, we only ever really pay attention to knwoing 10-50% of them, and we only ever really use 1-3% of them.

See when something becomes cheap, or easily accessible, or overly familiar we tend to take it for granted. In some cases we even abuse the use of whatever it is that is overly abundant because we think, “No big deal, theres more to be had”. And so it is for words.

God has a lot to say about words.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”

James 3:5–6 “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”

So when we say “Good Friday”, are we saying it with an awe shucks? Or are we saying it fully understanding the word “Good” in respect to the events that took place on this exact day in AD 33?

See, the goodness of this day is in direct proportion to the work that was done on it. And so tonight I want to take this time to reflect on the work that was done so that we can leave here understanding fully what we mean when we say Good Friday.

Today is a day of reflection, a day of introspection, a day when we should understand the weight of the events that took place.

Historically speaking, this day was not called Good Friday. The term Good Friday is, in fact, not an oxymoron at all, but what we can call a linguistic archaism. According to many scholars, the term Good Friday stems from the use of the term God’s Friday, which was interchangeably used with Holy Friday or Sacred Friday.

In Old English the day was called Long Friday becuase of the long periods of fasating and prayer that would take place on this day.

Germans called this day Sorrowful Friday, and in Orthodox traditions this day was called Great and Holy Friday.

Somehwere along the way, we cheapend our words to the point of irrelevance in some ways.

We throw the word good around like its a catch all for anyhting we like, even minimally.

But historically, over the millenia since Christ was brutalized, shamed, and murdered, our Christian brothers and sisters used words like Holy, Sorrowful, Great...

And why? Isn’t “good” good enough?

No, no it’s not.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue says the Word. So we must grasp deeply why we would apply that term to a day such as this.

Turn with me to Isaiah 52:14.

Isaiah here is writing to the Jewish people and prophesying to them about many things to come. Contextually, he has warned the Jewish people about the coming destruction of their cities and their coming excile, as well as thier coming salvation. What’s key here is to understand that he is not pulling any punches and he ays out both the desolation to come as well and the salvation to follow.

In Isaiah 52:14 he writes “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;”

In previous chapters, Isaiah has described the coming wrath that would be visited on Israel. Their cities would be sacked and the people taken away to Babylon, and between the extreme destruction and the lack of people inhabiting Israel, anyone looking upon it would be astonished.

So in the first part of verse 14 here, he is saying that Israel would be unrecognizable as a sovereign country, and anyone looking upon the cities left behind would be astonished at their state.

In comparison to this, he says, “So His visage was marred more than any other man, and His form more than the sons of men.”

This is the first indication we have of the severity of the abuse Jesus would receive on our behalf.

Now, let’s fast forward 700 years into the future, where we will see the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Turn to Matthew 26 with me.

Now, it’s very early in the monring, before light on April 3rd, AD 33. Jesus and His disciples have finished teh Passover meal and have gone out ot the Mount of Olives. Once there, Jesus takes his inner circle, Peter, James, and John, tot he inner Garden of Gethsemene.

Here, Jesus asks His men to watch and pray with Him, as He goes off to pray in private. He tells them in v. 38 that they should stay and watch with Him. And we are all familiar with what takes place here.

Afterwards, Jesus returns to his disciples where Judas has lead the pirests and elders along with the temple gurad to arrest Jesus, which they do.

He is lead away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the rest of the elders and scribes were gathered. And we know from Matthew 26:57-65 that the intent all along was to place Jesus in a sham trial so that the Sanhedrin could immorally justify their desire to kill Jesus and remove him from the political and spiritual scene.

They brought in false witness after false witness but were unable to make the stories corroborate until finally they found two men who, taking Jesus' teaching out of context, were successful in bringing charges of blasphemy against him.

Yet even in the face of flase acquisation, Jesus remaned silent. He had no need to reposnd to lies. However, His silence only engarges Ciaphas and the high priest lashes out saying “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

Jesus reponds simply by stating, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

At this reply Ciaphas tears his clothes in a show of virtue signalling screaming “Blasphemy! We need no more proof. He dserves death”

And at this point the pendlum has swung. There is no coming back. At this point we see the beggining of Jesus’ humiliation and torture.

In reponse to the high priest, the scribes and elders spit in Jesus’ face. This is one of the most humiliating things you can do to someone. To spit in somones face requires a deep level of hatred and disrespect.

We inately know that to spit siliva onto someon else is a vile things. And to put it on the face of someone, in their eyes, in the nose, in their mouth. And yes, I know, I am being graphic, but this is what I meant about how we take for granted the use of words.

Yes, it is good friday because of the reuslt of the owrk, but there is nothing good about what it took to get there. Now we’re seeing it!

Now they didn’t stop at spitting. It says in v. 67 that they beat Him. This word in Greek for beat means that htey struck Him in the face with their fists.

Anyone ever taken a punch? This was many blows to the face, closed fist, by men who were on average 5’11’ tall and 180 pounds. The average force created by the aaverage man (that is someonone who is not trained) is between 120 to 150 psi. Medical professionals state that blunt force trauma of this measurment will ikely cause brain injusry, intercranial bleeding, blurred vision, cuncusion, and a number of other severe traumas.

Why am I telling you this, because this wasn’t slap boxing. This wasn’t just a single punch to the fase a few sraps of spittle. Our Lord here is already enduring substnaital pain on His way to the cross.

But they don’t stop htere. They blindfold him and slap Him in the face with open hands and tuant him, saying “Prophecy who it is that hit if you are the Christ”.

These men, who just watched their colleagues spit on the face of Jesus, then beat him about the head with their fist, follow up with open handed slaps across an already tender face, and while the Lord is in pain, they verablly abuse Him.

Now a slap does not create nearly the force of a target punch, but it does create what’s called a nueral overload. Meaning that is disoreints the victim to the point of momentary confusion.

So, to this point, over the matter of just a couple hours, our King has been falsely arrested, put through a sham trial, beaten multiple times in teh face with fists carrying enough force to cause fractures and internal bleeding, spit on the face by more than one person, and slapped to the point of confusion all while being taunted by his abusers.

If we stopped here this would be enough for us to say, “I get it, I understand why the outcome of these things is what we call Good, because this Man has taken upon Himself this terrible beating and humiliation FOR ME.

But we don’t stop there. This is only the beggning.

Remember, in Isaiah 52, Isaiah writes the He is marred beyond recognition. At this point, although Jesus would have been in substnatial pain, most liekly very swollen across His face, He was recognizable. REmember, Isaiah wrote that the people looking upon Him would be astonsihed.

That says a great deal becuse under Roman occupation, the people of Jerusalem in 33 AD would have seen very severe beatings, whippings, hangins, and crucifiction. Thinlk about that, Isaiah is saying Jesus would be so badly disfigured that people would be astinished. The same people who ahd seen subsntiatal violence in their day.

Isaiah continues in Isaiah 53:3 “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

He was certianly despised by the religious leaders. The absolutely rejected Him as we just saw. We will see His rejection by the people of Jerusalem shortly, in fact so vehmently that they ask for his crucifiction.

He was a Man of sorrows. He wept over the very Jerusalem just days before this becuase He knew they would reject him and be destroyed in AD70 as Rome sacked teh city and untterly destroyed it. He grieved over Lazarus, His friend, who died. And Isaiah writes, in addition to that, the people hid their faces from Him while others despised Him, those of His own people did not esteem Him.

After this intial trial and beatings, Jesus is bound like some violent crminal and lead away. Outside, Peter is watiting next to the servant’s beside the fire trying to keep warm.

Many of you are familiar with the story. Peter is confronted three times, just as the Lord had predicted, by three separate servants claiming that Peter was known to be among the disciples. They even went so far as to say they could tell where he was from by his accent.

And just as Isaiah wrote, and just as Jesus had predicted, Peter denies the Lord three times. Peter, as Isaiah appointed out, hit his face and did not esteem the Lord in that moment, even having witnessed the injustice and inhumanity that had taken place.

At this point, the chief priests and the elders of the people were set on finding a way to put Jesus to death. But you see, the Roman laws would not allow them to put a man to death. They had lost the right to exercise capital punishment when the Romans took over Israel.

and so in their conniving and they’re plotting, that she priest and the elders take Jesus to Pontius Pilate, whom is the governor stationed in Jerusalem at that time.

before we go further, I just want to point out the evil, and demonic influences within this recounting. Here we have men, priests, scribes of the law who are in the word of God, who are supposed to know the word of God, who are planning the murder of a man who will be shortly found innocent by the executive governor of the province. Yet they are so afraid of losing power and money and status that they will plot to use any means necessary, including political coercion to murder a man in the name of power and position.

So, Jesus has brought before Pontius to be examined by him, the hopes of the chief priest and elders being that Pontius who will find him guilty of treason. Their main accusation being that Jesus is claming to be King of the Jews.

See, they know that this would be a troublesome claim for Pontious to deal with as Caeser is the only King and any claim otherwise would be punishable by death to the one making the claim.

no, Pontious is surprised. And in verse 13, we see him ask Jesus, do you not hear how many things they testify against you? Yet, Jesus doesn’t answer.

it’s exactly as Isaiah wrote in 53:7

Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.”

for the sake of time this evening, we won’t go through the entirety of the scenario between pilot Jesus and Herod. Suffice it to say that pilot, a shrewd politician, and a governor worried about losing his appointment does everything that he can to pacify the situation politically.

he uses what would be considered the federal court system to use probably a poor analogy. Pilot, who has the ultimate say in the case finds out that Jesus is from Galilee and subsequently sends him to Herod who was the (son of Herod the Great) held the position of Tetrarch of Galilee . As a Roman-appointed client ruler, he governed these northern regions, while Pilate served as the Roman prefect/governor overseeing the province of Judea to the south.

Pilate hopes that by passing Jesus back-and-forth between Roman rulers, he may find a reason for an acquittal. See, during the Passover week Jerusalem had swelled to hundreds of thousands, maybe even upwards of 2 million people. Pilot could not afford a riot as he was already under the magnifying glass for poor performance as prefect of Jerusalem. So he needed support and deniablity in the event things went south

But it didn’t work and after questioning and mocking Jesus, Herod send him back to Pilate.

Upon Jesus’ return, Pilate tries once more to acquit Jesus. It’s recorded in Luke chapter 23, beginning in verse 13.

Luke 23:13–22 “Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast). And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”—who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder. Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.””

At this point, Pilate will try one last tactic, He will offer to scourge Jesus as punishment and then release him as he, Pilate, has found no reason to put Jesus to deaht. yet even in this the people have been so evily influenced they scream back at Pilate, saying no, free Barabas, the murderer, the political rebel.

Now in Mathew, Mark, and Luke, it is recorded that Pilate capitulate on teh spot and send Jesus away to be flogged and tehn crucified. Yet John records that Pilate does not immediately capitulate and that he indeed sends Jesus away to be flogged before releasing Braabas.

It says in John 19:1 “So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.” This text is inserted between the request of the Jews to have Barabas and Pilate’s final presentation of Jesus to the people as innocanet.

What I want to focus on here though, is the events that take place behind the scenes. None of the gospel writers witnessed the scourging first hand. Jesus was taken away and only the result of the torutre was scene after teh fact.

The readers of the gospels in teh first century would have had a vivid aweareness of what sourging was and the insturments employed. We however, for the most part, brush over these topics in Church because we don’t want to be toogrpahicand make people uncomfortable.

But tonight, as I mentioned earlier, we have to understand the totality of what took place if we are going to compare the grandeur of what is Good about Good Friday to the cost that was paid.

There is a mistake commonly made when this topic is taught on, in that many times teachers forget to mention that Roman law as it pertained to scourging did not follow Jewish law.

As many of you are likely aware, Jewish law prescribed that a victim of flogging or whipping could not be struc kmore than 39 times (40 less one). However, Roman law had no such limit.

Jesus wasa not struck only 39 times. Likely he was struck a great many times more than that. Some scholars beloeve that it may have been upwards of 70 to 100 times.

When a victim was taken to be scourged, they were stripped naked. We know this to be the case with Jesus because the soldiers removed his clothing, eventually wrapping him in a purple robe to mock him.

After bieing stripped, the victim is lashes to a short stone pillar so that their back is arched toward the sky, stratching teh skin tight.

Two soldiers, one on either side, will begin the scourging, each one alernating until they are finished.

Generally speaking, the Roman scourging was a preamble to execution, so the duration of the beating was only in proprotion to the strength of the victim. The goal was to bring the victim near death.

Concnering the scourge itself, or flagellum as you have often heard it called, there are three known variations. The first, and in my opinion the most possible variation based on archelogical findings, is the Plumbatae. The Plumbatae, like all flagellum, had a stiff handle maybe 18-24 inches in length, of the end of which were hung leather straps. The number of straps varies but it generally accepted that there were between 7 and 12. On the end of these strps, in teh case of the Plumbatae, small lead or bronze balls or dumbbells were placed.

These dumbells were intended to casue initial deep contusions, which would eventually rupture, exposing subcutaneous tissues. Eventually, the skelatal muscle would be exposed whereby the Plumbatae would caeue muscular dmage similar in apperance to minced meat.

Alternatively, the Scorpio, the sencond and third variation of the flagellum, would have had either small fragments of sharpened animal bone or bronze hooks in place of the small bronze barbells. This variation was intended to remove flesh from the first strike.

At 40 lashes, the skin woul dhav ebeen rmoved at teh very least. More likely, the skelatel muscle would have been exposed along with blood vessels, and very likely in the areas where the rib cage are closet to the skin, the rib bones would have been visbile. IN may cases, depending on teh location of the soldier doning the flogging, the thongs would curl around and strike the face, neck, front of shoulder, buttocks, thigh, and stomach.

Beyond 40 lashes, debilitating damage would be incurred which may include rib fracture, bruising or puncture of the lung (pneumothorax), puncture of visceral organs such as the liver and spleen, and bleeding in the chest cavity. Eusebius of Caesarea said, “For they say that the bystanders were struck with amazement when they saw them lacerated with scourges even to the innermost veins and arteries, so that the hidden inward parts of the body, both their bowels and their members, were exposed to view” (Ecclesiastical History, Book 4, chap. 15)."

Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

This is just a portion of teh cost of our salvation. The sork is not yet finished and neither is the pain and suffering through wich our King had to walk so that you and I can be saved.

At this point, victims of scourging would have experienced massive blood loss usually leading to hypovolemic shock, characterized by a drastic drop in blood pressure and intense thirst, which often left the victim in a state of collapse before they even reached the site of execution. We know tha tin Jesus’ case both of these were true as Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus cross for Him as he had collapsed under its weight, andw eknow that Jesus creid out from teh Cross saying, “I thirst”.

Now, Jesus is untied form the whiping stone and to add sever isult to injury, the ROman guards while He is still naked, fashipn a crown of thorns to place on Jesus head.

This crown was likely fashioned from Jerusalem thorns, of which there are two variaties. Both variaties have 2-3 inch thorns that even if not dried are very rigid clunoed otgether two to three thorns er location on teh vine. If dried, these thorn become rock hard, comparbale it is said by some scholars to nails.

John 19:1 says that the soldiers put this corwn upon his head. It is unlikely that they siply placed this corwn gingerly on his head, but more likley, in.light of the violent setting, the crown was forced down with some pressure to rest upon his scalp.

The scalp is very highly capilarized, meaning it contains a higher number of blood vessels than other areas of the body. Concenring the head, it contains the highest desnisty comared to face or neck. The pressing down of the crown would have proudced substnaital bleeding and serious pain.

Verse 3 of John 19 tesll us that after this, the soldiers finally robed him a purple robe, mocking his claim to be King of the jews, and then struck him with their hands.

The phrase “struck him with their hands” is not translated in detail. The Greek equivenlt to this statemnet would be to say that they gave him another round of beatings with thei hand. The biblical greek usage of this terms means either that they hit him again with the scourges, or that htey slapped him hard about the head, posible boxing the ears. Matthew records that they beat him about the head with a read.

To this point, Jesus has now been spit on by multiple men, punched in teh face by multiple men in quick succession, slapped in the face while bilndfolded by multiple men, humiliated and mocked by Herod and others. He has been scourged, removing skin and muscle, liekly losing a third of his blood volume in the process, had a nail hard crown of thorns pressed on his scalp, the beaten about the head and body again by the Roman guard.

By the way, Mathew states that this was a Roman Garrison that was gathered to witness Jesus flogging. That’s anywhere form 40 men or more dpending on teh site of the garrison. So when we read “they” struck him with their hands, it wasn’t likely one or two soldiers.

Jesus is now walked back out to Pilate who remains in front of the crowd of people, all of hwom have been manipulated and inlfuenced by the pirests and elders to ask for Jesus’ crucifiction.

And, seeing no other way to appeas the situation, Pilate, cermonial washes his hands of the sentancing and gives Jesus over to the gurad to be crucified.

Now, Matthew, Mark, and Luke record that immediately upon leaving the Praetorium, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry Jesus cross. However, John records that Jesus carried it himself.

The likelihood is, and this is a great exmaple of where people state teh gospels are in error becuse they don’t match 100%, is that Jesus was initally forced to carry His cross, and unable to do so becuase of the fact His body was in shick and was liekly expereinceing organ failure at this point, he was unable to. At which point Simon was made to do it.

See, the likehood that Jesus or Simon were forced to carry the entore cross, both vertical and horizontal beams, is small. We do not have any fully intact crosses from the first century becuase wood, being an organic material, if not taken care of will rot. And it’s highly unlikely that anyone wanted to preserve such a horrific torture device.

So, what we do have is archeloigal and foresic recreations of the crosses used in Roman times. The Stipes (upright post) are estimated to have been between 8 and 15’ tall, giving ample length to be placed in teh goround. Two findings in tombs within Isreal ahve found these crosess to hav ebeen mad eof olivewood, and so knowing the dimensions and the wood type we can esitmate that the upright weighed between 200 and 300 pounds.

The cross beam, or patibulum, woul dhav ebeen between 5-6 feet in width and would have weighed somehwere between 75 and 125 lbs.

Now, anyone who has gone to the gym and eer tried to squat 300 lbs knows that even when you are healthy, the average adult male is not capable of walking of walking very far under that amount of weight. SO it is unlikely that Simon was carrying the entire corss. However, he would have been very capable of carrying the cross beam, even at 125 pounds.

Regardless, we can imagine Jesus, scourged to the point of shock and near death having 100 pounds placed on his back, which would have had muscle and nerve ending exposed. He could not have made it all that way.

Now we come to culmination of our King’s suffering. It’s very hard to comprehend that he is now to be tortured on teh cross for 6 hours. His back, again open to the flesh, nerce endings, blood vessels and bone, will be placed against the upright, of which he will push off of for 6 hours training to breath.

Traditional views of crucifixtion state that the victim would be placed on the vertical post, his feet being nailed through the 2nd and 3rd meta tarcel bones, whihc, if you look at your foot would be the in between the tendons that extend upward from your tow nearesnt rou big toe and your middle toe. The bones create a natural wedge shape on which the body’s weight can rest.

Archelogical findings have also shown that alternatively the feet may have been placed along side th post, whereby the spike would have been driven through the heel bone, also called the calcneus. However, this bone is relatively fragile and the Romans, having prefect crucifixion, woul dlikely have prefered teh more secure frontal approach.

The placement of the foot spike would have likely been driven through teh median tarsal nerve, cause sever pain both as it was driven and as the victim pplaced his weight upon that nail to support himself on the cross.

Concnering the hands, the spikes would have been drven through the wrist. If you look at your wrist and your hand you will see where the meat of your palm meat in a V shape at the wrist, At that point of the wrist there are two major bones that would have likely been smashed or pierced, the goal being secure hold to the cross bar.

The median nerve runs directly under this opint of the wrist and likelthe tarsal nerve, would have been destoryed by the passing through of the psike cause severe pain both at the time of securing to the cross as well as when the victim supported their weight while hanign to rest thie legs.

Now three are a number of paintings and depictions of crucifictions showing a small platform either at the feet or buttocks which would have allowed the victim to support themselves by resting on said platform. however, in first cnetury rome, this was not the practice and was only later documented as being applied to crosses.

The extreme pain of just the process of being nailed to the cross is incomrehensible to most if not all of us, however, while this pain was a part of the Roman’s goalin crucifixtion, it was the elongated and tortourous death that was the ulitmate goal.

The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion, beyond the excruciateing pain, was a marked interference with normal respiration, particularly exhalation. The weight of the body, pulling down on the out- stretched arms and shoulders, would tend to fix the intercostal muscles in an inhalation state and thereby hinder passive exhalation.

Accordingly, exhalation was primarily diaphragmatic, and breathing was shallow. It is likely that this form of respiration would not suffice and that hypercarbia would soon result. The onset of muscle cramps or tetanic contractions, due to fatigue and hypercarbia, would hinder respiration even further.

Adequate exhalation required lifting the body by pushing up on the feet and by flexing the elbows and adducting the shoulders. However, this maneuver would place the entire weight of the body on the tarsals and would produce searing pain.

Furthermore, flexion of the elbows would cause rotation of the wrists about the iron nails and cause fiery pain along the damaged median nerves. Lifting of the body would also painfully scrape the scourged back against the rough wooden stipes.

Muscle cramps and paresthesias of the outstretched and uplifted arms would add to the discomfort.As a result, each respiretory effort would become agonizing and tiring and lead eventually to asphyxia.

The actual cause of death by crucifixion was multifactorial and varied somewhat with each case, but the two most prominent causes probably were hypovolemic shock and exhaustion asphyxia. Other possible contributing factors included dehydration, stress-induced arrhythmias, and congestive heart failure with the rapid accumulation of pericardial and perhaps pleural effusions.

Crucifracture (breaking the legs below the knees), if performed, led to an asphyxic death within minutes. Death by crucifixion was, in ev- ery sense of the word, excruciating (Latin, excruciatus, or “out of the cross”).

In Jesus case, while he expereinced all of what was jsut stated, he spoke seven times. Each of the statemnets he made would have caused him excrutiating pain, yet even in the pain He says:

Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.”

Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.””

John 19:26–27 “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”

Matthew 27:46 “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?””

John 19:28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!””

John 19:30 “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.”

Of the seven statemnts Christ made on teh cross, each one having taken a huge effort and causing massive physical pain, 5 of them were made so that others would be made to feel his love and grace. He gave a mother a son and a son a mother, he forgave his murderes, he forgave a criminal, he trsuted teh father to receive his spirit and he finished the work that was required so that you and I can call this day Good.

I dont have the time tonight to discuss the emotional and spiritual pain that Christ endurerd, but for a minute I want us to think about what sent Christ to the cross in teh first place. The sin of the world.

when we sit in a place such as this, we tend to be among people who while are yet sinners have generally not committed the types of heinous crimes or abuses for which we are all so appalled.

yes, we individually recognize that in a sin, and that our sin is what put Jesus on that cross in the first place, but what we must recognize, as well as that he died not only for arsons be them big or small as we would regard them in our spiritual economy, but that he died for the sins of those who have committed atrocities.

he hung on the cross for murders for rapes for abuses for kidnapping for human trafficking for hatred for homosexual acts for covetousness for greed for jealousy for adultery for drunkenness. He hung on the cross for it all.

I believe it’s impossible for us to fully comprehend his sacrifice. Until we see the lamb slain as JOHN did in revelation I don’t think we’ll ever understand this side of heaven the cost and that is why tonight I have shared with you the extreme truths of the physical anguish our Lord and Savior endured so that we might be saved.

We can only imagine the emotional and spiritual pain in comparison as he became sin as it is written on that cross. I hope that tonight we leave reflecting now on the weight and the importance of what he has done and that in light of that we recognize what it really means to call this Friday good

tonight and tomorrow I encourage us to reflect on this, to think on this, to read the scriptures and to meditate on what happened in Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago because Sunday is coming when he rises again victorious.