Have You Thanked Him Today?

Small note here: I recently had the pleasure of meeting a new friend in the blogosphere. She calls herself "Baptist Girl". You can find her on my blogroll. I asked her permission to republish one of her posts. She gave me permission. As you read it you'll know why I was interested. So, here it is...

All He endured for the Elect

John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (NASB). The KJV says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."


It brings me to tears reading what He suffered so that we could be forgiven......

A cross is placed on the ground. The one being crucified is thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. His wrists are felt for depressions at the front of the wrists. A heavy square wrought-iron nail is driven through the wrist and deep into the wood. It is repeated on the other wirst, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow flexibility and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus reading Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews is nailed in place.

The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain - the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this wrenching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the the tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurs. As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless,throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs,but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.

It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences which are recorded:The first, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do".

The second, to the penitent thief, "Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise".The fourth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, "My God, my God,why hast thou forsaken me?" Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting joint- rending cramps,intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins. A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as thepericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.Let us remember again the 22nd Psalm (the 14th verse), "I am poured outlike water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels". It is now almost over - the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level - the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue - the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to draw in small gulps of air.The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain.Jesus gasps His fifth cry, "I thirst".Let us remember another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death".A sponge soaked in Posca, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple drink of the Roman legionnaires, is lifted to His lips. He apparently does not take any of the liquid. The body of Jesus is now in extremis and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words - possibly little more than a tortured whisper."It is finished".His mission of atonement has been completed. Finally He can allow his body to die.With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, "Father into thy hands I commit my spirit".

Cristina