When Someone Dies

Cheap Crosses

Mark 15:25 " Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him".

No one wanted a Roman crucifixion. With its origins in the Middle East in the area which we now know as Iran, crucifixion by the Roman government was cruel, vicious, brutal, and humiliating.

The Roman soldiers always made the victim carry the cross to the place where he would be crucified.

And so, the journey began for Jesus to carry His own cross through the streets of Jerusalem. Spat upon and laughed at, His robe ripped from His body, the Roman soldiers brought the cross that weighed over 100 pounds and was made of olive wood to Jesus. They lashed His shoulders to the cross then tied a long rope around His waist that was approximately ten feet long.

The rope was that long, so that, should the victim become reluctant to walk forward, the soldiers could pull the one being crucified down the street.

Jesus had already lost a lot of blood in the garden of Gethsemane. He had sweated great drops of blood through His skin through a process of the human body called “hematidrosis”. Hematidrosis can occur when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress, for example when someone is facing their own death.

Hematidrosis causes great weakness in the human body and can cause the body to go into shock. During this process of the human body, as a result of the hemorrhaging of blood into the sweat glands, the skin becomes fragile and tender and the slightest touch can cause a considerable amount of pain.

Before Jesus was crucified, He had been struck in the face and His body had been beaten through the torture known as scourging. Scourging, practiced by the Romans, was a cruel punishment that usually preceded crucifixion.

The only ones exempted from scourging were women, Roman senators, and soldiers, except in cases of desertion. Normally there were between one and six trained Roman officers called lictors who were responsible for dispensing the blows to the victims. The lictors chosen to administer the scourging had received special medical training.

They knew how to wield the whip so as to open bruises which had already formed. The instrument used for scourging was a short whip called a flagrum or flagellum to which was attached several braided leather thongs of variable lengths.

Knots were tied in the ends of each thong, and sheep bone or iron balls were inserted into the knots at the end of each thong.

Jesus had been stripped of his clothing and his hands were tied to a post.

The Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim's back and legs with full force causing deep contusions.

Lacerations from repeated blows cut into the underlying muscles of His body and ripped the overlaying skin of His back to a point where it hung in ribbons of bleeding flesh. His capillaries and veins would have been torn resulting in intense bleeding.

The pain that Jesus experienced from the scourging was intensified because of hematidrosis in Jesus’ body. His body would now be in a state of half-shock and His body temperature would have begun to drop. At this point, there would be little fluid left to nourish the tissues of His body.

The Roman soldiers realized how hard they had pushed Him when Jesus fell to the ground and could go no further. So, they enlisted Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross.

Once the victim reached the site of crucifixion, a society of Jewish women would always give a victim a mixture of vinegar and myrrh to ease the pain before the cross was lifted with the person tied to it. That day when Jesus was crucified, two thieves were crucified with Him, and the thieves drank the liquid in an attempt to ease the pain of crucifixion. But, not Jesus.

No. He wanted His mind clear. He knew exactly what He was doing and He knew the pain that was to come. There was no attempt on His part to try to ease the discomfort or escape any of the suffering that was about to occur.

So, the Roman soldiers flung Him to the dirt and stretched His arms at 90 degree angles on the cross. Then, the soldiers drove 5 inch long spikes into His wrists.

The reason they drove the spikes into the victim’s wrists was so that at the moment of lifting the victim, the median nerve that runs from the wrist to the shoulder, would be severed and excruciating pain would race up and down the victim’s arm. The only relief possible to the victim would be death itself and doctors report that the greatest pain that someone being crucified would experience would have been when the median nerve was severed.

As the pain shot through the arms of Jesus and the two thieves that day, none of us could imagine the terrifying screams that went up from the hillside in that awful, awesome moment.

Once the victim was lifted up on the cross, one of two methods was used regarding the victim’s feet. The first method would be to leave the feet hanging, which would bring about almost certain death.

The soldiers, though, had discovered a way to prolong the torture. They would place the left foot against the cross then place the right foot on top of the left and drive a spike through both feet. When the victim would begin to sag and as his body reached an angle of 65 degrees, he would be unable to breathe and carbon dioxide would fill the lungs, causing more terrifying pain. (Imagine holding your breath and not being able to breathe). (Notes on medical aspects of the crucifixion: from T.W. Hunt).

Then, they crucified Jesus on the cross.

Why is the cross so important? Why was it necessary for Jesus to die on an old rugged cross?

Because the cross is the place where Jesus shed His blood and died for our sins. And, the cross is the place of Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice for the atonement for our past, present, and future sins.

It is in that awful, terrible moment when Jesus, holy and perfect and pure as He was, and is, takes upon Himself the sins of the world and He is crucified.

It is a liberating event for you, and for me, for on the cross we are delivered from the penalty of our sins. The penalty would have been separation from God for eternity in that terrible place called Hell had Jesus not died for us.

Not only were we delivered from the penalty of our sins by Jesus dying on the cross, we were also delivered from the power of sin in our lives. How cruel it would have been for God to have delivered us from only the penalty of our sins but not offered freedom from the power of sin in our daily lives.

Being delivered from the penalty of sin and being delivered from the power of sin, when Jesus died on the cross, He also set us free so that one day, in heaven, we will be delivered from the presence of sin. And in heaven, there will be no sin.

But, what about the cross today?

Why don’t we preach more about the cross than we do? Why don’t we teach about the cross more in our Bible study groups in our churches? Why don’t we write more books about the cross? Why don’t we write and sing more songs about the cross?

If the cross was so important to the Lord Jesus, why is it not important to us today?

We live in a world of crosses today in our culture but the crosses are "cheap crosses." Just go into your local Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Target, or K-Mart and you can buy a cross always for much less than the retail price. Just google the words “cheap crosses” and you will find many web sites where you can purchase a cheap cross.

And, certainly, you know that everyone needs to wear a cheap cross and everybody needs to have a cheap cross hanging on the walls of their houses. Of course, all bought at discount for less than the retail price.

We see people everywhere wearing cheap crosses around their necks on a chain. They wear their cheap crosses in their ears as ear rings. They wear their cheap crosses on their fingers as rings or they have their cheap crosses tattooed on who knows how many different parts of their bodies.

And, it’s cool to wear a cross, isn’t it? Why, just ask Snoop Dog or 50 Cent or rapper Slim Thug if it isn’t cool to wear a cross around your neck. Hey, if the rappers do it, we all ought to do it!

Here is the funny thing about purchasing a cheap cross: you can go into any Sam’s, Wal-Mart, Target, or K-Mart and buy a cross and they won’t even ask you for your OCI badge (Official Christian Identification badge) that says that you are a legitimate, in good standing and long-time member of the “I’m saved because my identification badge says so” society.

No, everybody qualifies to buy and wear cheap crosses, whether they are a Christian or not.

Wearing a cross is appealing. Isn’t it? It makes you look good and it makes a great fashion statement, doesn’t it? And cheap crosses profit the companies that make them because they don’t cost a lot to make. So, all in all, buy a cheap cross and help the economy.

Sadly, cheap crosses could well describe a good bit of what we hear being preached on TV, on the radio, on the internet, and in our churches. And, a cheap cross might be appropriate to put on the steeples of some our churches whose pulpits are catering to those who want a religion at no cost.

We don't mind wearing the symbol of the cross around our necks. We don't even mind singing hymns about the cross. And, to be honest with you, we don't even mind if someone preaches about the cross----- just so they preach to lost people and not to us. We love to sing that we will “cling to the old rugged cross” but do we understand what clinging to the “old rugged cross” really means.

If someone preaches that the cross is about personal sacrifice, we don’t like it.

If someone preaches to us that the cross will take us out of our own little world of our comfort zone, we don’t like it.

If someone preaches to us that the cross will mean our own death to sin, death to selfishness, and death to self-centeredness, we don’t like it.

We want to get the Christian life for as little sacrifice as possible. And, maybe we can even slip through the Christian journey for absolutely nothing.

That describes so much of what is happening today in Christianity. We want a cheap cross.

Sadly, there is very little preaching today about the cross of Jesus but there is more preaching about (and these are not made up):
• Eight steps to create the life you want
• How to become a better you
• Positioning yourself for greatness
• Positioning yourself to prosper
• Exalted in my body (whatever that means!)
• Designed for success
• Stepping to a new level of blessing
• The necessity of how to recognize the enemies of prosperity
• The rewards of recognizing financial deliverers assigned by God to unlock your
faith
• How to focus your seed sowing for a specific result

God forbid that anybody preach on the cross today and suffering and sacrifice. There are men who call themselves communicators and motivators but they are, apparently, afraid to call themselves "preachers of the gospel", fearful that they might be associated with someone who just might preach on the cross of Christ.

And, God forbid that anybody write about the cross of Christ and about denying self and denying the flesh. We have Christian books written today about success, financial prosperity, the Christian’s sex life, being on the mountaintop with God, how to be happy and how God wants to bless your life with fancy homes, fancy cars, and the latest in fashionable clothes. But, we don’t have much written about the cross.

Why is that?

When Jesus talked about the cross, it meant death.

When Jesus talked about the cross, it meant denial of fleshly desires and fleshly wants.

When Jesus talked about the cross, it meant heading down a road from which there would be no return.

Where do we find ourselves today? Preferring a "cheap cross", one in which there is no commitment, no surrender, and no change in our lives? That kind of cross is not found in the Word of God.

The cross that is mentioned in the New Testament is:

• A cross that is demonstrated by surrendering our lives to follow Jesus Christ.

• A cross that is marked by complete and total obedience to Jesus Christ and nothing
less is acceptable than complete obedience.

• A cross that results in lives being changed.

In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul describes what the cross meant in Jesus' life-

5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus
6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God
7) But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men:
8) And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross.

• The cross for Jesus meant no recognition (verse 7a: "…but made Himself of no reputation…"). Jesus was not concerned about making a name for Himself nor was He concerned about being well known or noticed. He wasn’t concerned about self-promotion.

• The cross for Jesus meant no prejudice (verse 7b: "…took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men…"). Jesus was willing to become like we are in order for us to become like He is. He was willing to identify and associate Himself with mankind, showing no prejudice toward us and toward our sinfulness, our rottenness, and our wickedness.

• The cross for Jesus meant no pride (verse 8a: "…He humbled Himself…"). For Jesus, there was never an issue of pride. He humbled Himself and became a servant.

• The cross for Jesus meant no rebellion (verse 8b: "…. became obedient unto death…"). We find no resistance and no rebellion in Jesus. We see that He went to the cross to die, willingly and joyfully. (Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God”.)

Among the words that have lost their meaning in today's church is the word “cross” and that word that has lost its meaning in your life and my life.

Cheap cross? I hope not but it sure looks like it.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism during World War II. Bonhoeffer was arrested in March 1943, imprisoned, and eventually hanged just days before the end of World War II in Europe.

Bonhoeffer wrote:

"The cross is laid on every Christian. The first suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. We surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death—we give over our lives to death. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die....death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man. Only the man who is dead to his own will can follow Christ. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, die to all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die…”

Instead of a cheap cross there must be the realization that the cross is costly. It cost Jesus His life. It will also cost us our lives by requiring us to die to self.

What is dying to self?

“When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at nought, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult of the oversight but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of and when your wishes are crossed and your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence, that is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any impunctuality, to any annoyance, when you stand face to face with waste and folly and extravagance and spiritual insensitivity and endure it as Jesus endured it, that is dying to self.

When you're content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any solitude, any raiment, any interruption by the will of God, that is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or to record your own good words or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown, that is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, that is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly, as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, that is dying to self.” (Gene Warr)

Let me ask you: are you dead yet?