The Crucifixion of Jesus

The execution of a condemned criminal today is nothing like crucifixion. The goal is to be as humane as possible, trying to minimize the pain, but the Romans wanted to inflict the maximum amount of agony. Jesus was committed to the cup of suffering because that is what it would take to redeem mankind.

Stripped naked and nailed to a cross did not bring immediate death. It was a prolonged form of misery whose only relief was death by suffocation after three to four days. The whole experience was designed to be excruciating, lingering, and most of all, shameful.

Meanwhile, the Roman soldiers divided Jesus’ bloody clothes amongst themselves and Pontius Pilate ordered a sign placed over His head which infuriated the ungodly religious leadership that had gathered to gloat over the God-man. Christians should appreciate Jesus’ commitment to the cup of suffering and the salvation made possible with the blood shed by the Son of God on the cross.