*At the conclusion of the previous article I invited you to read and closely consider Matthew 27:11-56, Mark 15:15-41, Luke 23:6-49 and John18:28-19:37. I recall them to your attention now. What follows is a composite of those Gospel accounts describing the suffering of Christ. Although a few medical terms are used it is not my intent to present a comprehensive examination of the medical cause of Jesus’ physical death so much as to communicate the cruel and ignominious manner of it – crucifixion – toward the end that we better understand Jesus’ love for us. He suffered and died willingly and willfully, submitting Himself as the only worthy sacrifice for our sin so that we, by grace through faith, can have eternal life.*
The various religious and civil authorities to whom Jesus was presented after His arrest and by whom He was accused were, whether willing to admit it or not, in great fear of our Lord. They felt He jeopardized their positions of influence and control over the common populace religiously, politically, economically and socially. They misunderstood and therefore rejected the faith to which Jesus calls all people. Viewing Jesus with human rather than spiritual eyes, they saw Him as a blasphemer, an insurrectionist inciting sedition and revolt, a danger to the corrupt relationships between the Romans and the Jewish hierarchy and as a menace to the basic social order when in fact He is the Son of God and “…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).” In their frustration they convinced themselves that destroying Jesus would remove all threats, things would settle down and life would go on as before. They were wrong, and life as they knew it could never be the same again!
In the midst of His ordeal Jesus was scoffed and ridiculed repeatedly, blindfolded and beaten mercilessly. Jesus was sharply mocked, fists pummeled Him and His body was bruised by the blows just as any man’s would be. The Gospel accounts say that Jesus was scourged and that a crown of thorns was placed upon His head. The simplicity and brevity of the passages cited at the beginning of this article may serve to diminish the ghastly suffering Christ endured, but as I meditate upon them my mind conjures vivid repellent images of the shame, torture and death I deserve because of my sin. Were it not for the torments Christ suffered on our behalf we would be irreconcilably separated from God forever, “But he (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:5-6).”
A gruesome future
To begin our understanding of Jesus’ state of total suffering at Calvary let us revisit the garden of Gethsemane. Luke writes of Jesus’ prayers in chapter 22, verse 44 that “…being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Is this statement a literal and accurate depiction of what took place? I believe so. A rare condition called hematidrosis, also known as hemorrhagia percutem, may occur in cases of extreme stress or anxiety. Faced with bearing the sin of the world, who could ever be more stressed than Jesus must have been? Hematidrosis manifests as sweat containing blood or blood pigments because intense protracted anxiety affects the autonomic nervous system by triggering the amygdala, the brain’s fear center. Often referred to as the fight-or-flight response, it results in diaphoresis (profuse sweating), an accelerated heart rate, and vasoconstriction (decreased diameter of blood vessels) which increases blood pressure. Blood is diverted from non-essential bodily functions to increase blood flow to the brain and muscles of the arms and legs. One’s skin becomes pale. Digestive functions decrease, which may result in abdominal cramps and vomiting.
Jesus’ state of anxiety lasted for several hours while He prayed alone with His apostles sleeping nearby, leaving Him completely exhausted and dehydrated due to diaphoresis and perhaps vomiting. When the angel appeared to give Him strength Jesus’ physical body would have experienced a sudden and completely reversed reaction so that severe dilation and rupture of the blood vessels into the sweat glands occurred, causing hemorrhage into the ducts of the sweat glands and subsequent extrusion through the skin. It is therefore both physiologically possible and a Biblical fact that Jesus did indeed sweat “…great drops of blood…” in such quantities that it fell upon the ground.
Christ in custody
At the Praetorium Pilate ordered that Jesus be scourged (flogged) in an extreme manner as a failed attempt to appease an angry mob. When the crowd still wasn’t satisfied and demanded the release of Barabbas, Pilate pronounced sentence. The severity of the scourging is not discussed in the four Gospel accounts but it is referenced in 1 Peter 2:24, and a detailed word study of the Greek text for that verse indicates the scourging of Jesus to have been particularly harsh. Jewish law (Deuteronomy 25:3) limits the number of lashes 39 or fewer, but Jesus was in the hands of Romans who were not obligated to constrain themselves. There was no legal limit to the number of blows that could be delivered. Among the Romans scourging was also more severe, and frequently the number of lashes was dependent upon the cruelty of the executioners. Historically the Roman soldiers, known as lictors, employed as executioners were quite vicious and sadistic. If the lictors did not want their cruciaris (victim of crucifixion)to die too quickly they could at their discretion limit the number or severity of lashes administered. The number also depended on the man and his crime; when the accusations included insurgency or blasphemy the total of lashes could well have exceeded 40 at the liberty of the lictors or the Roman judge. Jesus, we know, was falsely accused of both crimes.
Hematidrosis during his agony in the garden likely rendered His skin particularly tender. Dehydrated and nauseous, by the time Jesus was flogged He was already in a very weakened condition from the lack of adequate food, water, and sleep. Even the mildest scourging, with its inherently intense pain and blood loss, would have further reduced Jesus’ condition to what is medically termed pre-shock.
An instrument of torture
How was scourging carried out and with what instrument? Roman flagellation (scourging) was one of the most feared of all tortures, a brutal and inhumane punishment exacted by Roman soldiers using the most dreaded instrument of the time, generally called a flagrum. Intended to weaken the victim to near collapse or sometimes death, scourging was preliminary to every Roman execution. Women, Roman senators and soldiers accused of offenses other than desertion were exempt; the punishment of slaves was particularly dreadful. The flagrum was a whip consisting of three or more ox-hide tails to which small metal balls called plumbatae and sharp sheep bones were attached at intervals along the tails and at the ends. If a hook was incorporated at the tails’ ends the flagrum would be more specifically called the terrifying name “scorpion.” Stripped utterly naked, Jesus would have been shackled or otherwise bound by His wrists to a low column and restrained in a bowed or bent-over position. One or more of the lictors would have then delivered blows using the flagrum, probably by standing beside Jesus in a position from which the whips would fly in arc-like fashion across our Savior’s exposed back. The weight of the metal plumbatae and bones would carry the leather thongs around the torso to the front of the body as well as across the back and arms as the plumbatae and sheep bones dug deep into the flesh shredding skin, ripping blood vessels, tearing at nerve fibers and mangling muscle. The shoulders, arms, and legs down to and including the calves were also targets of the lictors practicing their cruel craft and they would have alternated positions periodically to deliver blows from opposite sides.
Scourging affects the human body severely and death was often the result. Blows to the upper back and ribs caused bone fractures, extensive bruising within the lungs, bleeding into the chest cavity and either partial or complete pneumothorax (a puncture of the lung causing it to collapse). A pint or more of blood could be lost. Many victims would periodically vomit, experience tremors or seizures, and faint. The excruciating pain of each blow would elicit unrestrained shrieks of pain (although the record indicates Jesus remained silent). The victim would be profusely sweating and exhausted, his flesh lacerated and ripped. Blood loss and diaphoresis would result in craving thirst. Such a steady loss of fluid initiates hypovolemic shock while pleural effusion (a steady accumulation of fluid in the injured lungs) along with fractured ribs would make any attempt to breathe ever-more difficult and painful; the victim would be able to draw only short, shallow breaths. The plumbataeat the ends of the leather whips would also lacerate the liver and perhaps the spleen to cause even more bleeding within the abdomen. As flogging continued the lacerations would become tears through the skin and underlying skeletal muscles would become quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh, setting the stage for what is known as circulatory shock, the extent of which was a determinant in how long a victim might survive on the cross. As Jesus’ scourging progressed the crowd in attendance encouraged the lictors while jeering, heckling and taunting our Christ. Such was the scourging of our Lord.
Even in cases where punishment was not intended to be lethal most who were scourged in this manner passed into unconsciousness and many died. Survivors were invariably debilitated thereafter. As the flogging continued it would be necessary to keep Jesus alive for public subjugation on the cross so the Centurion in charge would have ordered the lictors to halt the flogging when Jesus was deemed to be appropriately near death, His physical condition at the least serious and likely already critical.
A crown for the King
Jesus’ condition after scourging would have been sickening for bystanders to look upon but His ordeal wasn’t nearly complete. The torturous scourging would have resulted in the early stages of traumatic (or injury) shock and hypovolemic shock because of pleural effusion, hematidrosis, hemorrhaging from His wounds, vomiting, and diaphoresis. Still, more physical and mental abuse was to be meted out by the Romans as well as the Jews. The Roman soldiers, spurred on by the accusing mob and amused that this weakened man had claimed to be a king, mocked Him by placing a purple robe over Jesus’ shoulders, a crown of thorns on His head, and a wooden staff as a scepter in His right hand. They then spat on Jesus before clubbing Him with the staff. Moreover, when the robe was later removed it probably further irritated the wounds left by scourging.
Many historians and reputable botanists opine that Jesus’ crown of thorns was most likely made of what is now known as the Syrian Christ Thorn while others speculate a similar plant simply and commonly called Christ’s Thorn was used. Envision these not as the small thorns of berry bushes or rose bushes with which we are familiar but as long, hard, sharp, closely-spaced thorns on supple vines that can be easily plaited into a cap. The crown was probably not a wreath as is typically depicted in art but a cap driven mercilessly onto Jesus’ head. The thorns likely pierced to the bone, cutting into the large supply of blood vessels in the scalp so that Jesus would have bled profusely, further complicating hypovolemic shock. His hair would have been matted, His eyes clouded and His own blood tasted salty and bitter upon His tongue, but the crown would cause much more intense suffering than that.
Two nerves enervate all areas of the head and face. The first, also known as the fifth cranial nerve, is the trigeminal nerve that provides sensation to the front half of the head, the face, nose, mouth and jaws. Irritation of this nerve complex by the penetrating thorns would cause a condition called trigeminal neuralgia (or tic douloureux), resulting in severe facial pain aggravated by the lightest of touches. Swallowing or talking becomes difficult if not impossible. Exposure to even the mildest breeze causes extreme discomfort as stabbing pain radiates over the forehead, around the eyes and cheeks, both lips, the tongue and nose; any change in temperature is agonizing. These perceptions would have been exacerbated by Jesus’ fatigue and tension as spasms of sharply-focused and explosively-stabbing pain radiated about His face. Many who have experienced trigeminal neuralgia describe it as a most horrific type of pain. The second nerve, the greater occipital branch, provides sensation to the back half of the head in much the same manner as does the trigeminal to the face.
As the soldiers struck Jesus He would have felt excruciating pain across His face and deep into His ears not unlike sensations from a hot poker or an electric shock, pain that would have continued during His trek to Calvary and intensified while hanging on the Cross. As Jesus walked, as He was pushed and shoved along, as He fell or moved any part of His face new waves of acute pain would have washed over Him. His state of both hypovolemic and traumatic shock would have become worse. Jesus would have been growing increasingly weak and light-headed by this time and bouts of dry heaving likely continued, along with shortness of breath, lack of coordination and irregularity of movement.
A wooden cross and iron nails – the practice of crucifixion
By this point in His ordeal Jesus was surely a mangled pulp of a man beaten, bleeding, breathing with difficulty and suffering two forms of shock. How, we may then ask, could anyone in such a debilitated condition carry or even drag a t-shaped cross likely weighing 200 pounds but perhaps considerably more? The short answer is that He did not. A brief examination of Roman crucifixion practices will clarify the matter.
The so-called low cross used in Roman crucifixions consisted of two parts. An upright post sometimes called the mortise was more commonly referred to as the stipes or staticulum; the crosspiece, or tenon, was called the patibulum or antenna. Stipes, permanently arrayed outside the city walls of Jerusalem, were already in position at Calvary (Golgotha). Jesus, like other victims of crucifixion, would have carried only His patibulum, likely weighting between 75 and 125 pounds. At Calvary the patibulum would be placed into a rectangular notch carved near the top of the stipes.
Jesus probably began his march to crucifixion carrying the patibulum over both shoulders, as it was Roman custom to tie a victim’s wrists to it. History recounts that in His gravely serious condition Jesus fell at least three times along his march to Calvary, and in his dire condition it would have been more difficult to regain his feet each time. Because His executioners needed to keep Jesus alive until His crucifixion Simon of Cyrene was enlisted help carry the crosspiece, or patibulum.
Crucifixion, a form of torture and capital punishment intended to produce slow death while maximizing pain and suffering, was not conceived by the Romans but they had perfected its techniques so that by Jesus’ day they were sadistically well-rehearsed. Among the most cruel and disgraceful methods of execution, crucifixion was ordinarily reserved for slaves, military deserters, foreigners, revolutionaries, murderers (such as Barabbas), or the vilest criminals. Roman citizens were usually legally protected from crucifixion, which was carried out by teams of five Roman soldiers consisting of the exactor mortis (a centurion) and four soldiers called the quaternio. Like the lictors, they were well-trained, experienced and highly skilled in exacting the most pain possible from their victims.
On the hill called Calvary crucifixions were carried out in full public view. Processionals to the site were led by a Roman guard headed by the centurion carrying a sign upon which the condemned man’s name and crime were displayed. That sign would later be attached to the top of the cross. Unless prohibited by local customs the condemned man was naked, so it is noteworthy that the Gospel accounts by Matthew, Mark and John specifically state Jesus was given His own clothes after the purple robe was removed and it was his own clothing that was later divided among the quaternio. The accompanying Roman guard never left any victim until they were sure of his death.
The stipes of a Roman low cross probably stood about seven to seven-and-a-half feet in height, from a practical standpoint making it easier to lift the patibulum and victim into position and to later remove the corpse after death. Shorter stipes also made it easier for wild animals to reach victims. A horizontal wooden block or plank called a suppadenum was often attached midway down the stipes to serve as a crude seat, thus prolonging the torture and crucifixion process. Artists sometimes depict a suppadenum in paintings but history is unclear as to its employment when Jesus was crucified.
Roman law dictated that upon His arrival at Calvary Jesus would have been offered a mild pain reliever, a bitter drink of wine mixed with myrrh (or gall). After Jesus shunned its numbing effect He would have been thrown roughly onto His back with His arms outstretched along the patibulum. Occasionally the Romans tied one’s hands to the patibulum but they preferred nailing, as was done to Jesus. The nails used would have been iron spikes approximately 5 to 7 inches long having a square shaft of just under a half inch tapering to about a quarter inch at the tip and were commonly driven through the wrists rather than the palms.
Blood flowed freely as lightning bolts of pain would have radiated up Jesus’ arm like hot pokers when the first nail was driven. Any normal subject of crucifixion would have at that point screamed out in agony, but as there is no credible record in either secular history or Biblical account I theorize that Jesus bore and fully absorbed the pain in utter silence. The process was repeated for the other hand and there would have been no relief from the agony. Thus affixed to the crossbar, Jesus would have been lifted roughly to His feet and made to walk backward onto a small platform from which He would have been lifted for insertion of the patibulum into a notch near the top of the stipes.
Were the nails driven through Jesus’ palms or His wrists? Speculation abounds among Bible scholars, medical experts and historians alike, none of which is absolutely conclusive. Some say the nails were driven into a natural space generally known as Destot’s space situated between the two rows of bones in the wrists while others contend the nails penetrated Jesus’ palms through the thenar furrow. Artists popularly depict the nail wounds in the palms. I will not contend either way, instead accepting the Biblical truth that nails were used.
During the process of nailing but especially if through the thenar furrow the median nerve would have been brutally insulted to cause burning, searing waves of pain so severe that the slightest touch, movement, or gentle breeze upon the skin would have been unthinkably agonizing. Known as causalgia, this condition intensifies with increases in temperature. In the absence of abatement by strong narcotics the sufferer invariably sinks further into traumatic shock. Raising Jesus on His patibulum to the top of the stipes would have added His own body weight to the strain, elevated the level of pain and further contributed to traumatic shock.
After Jesus and the crossbar had been lifted onto the post His feet were affixed to it. Although the feet could be rested on a wooden shelf and some were tied, nailing was the preferred Roman practice. Jesus’ feet were nailed directly to the post. Flexion of the knees and outward rotation of the legs may have been quite prominent, His knees bent until His feet were flush to the sides of the stipes. Again, I speculate that Jesus remained silent throughout this part of His harrowing and painful ordeal as the soles of His feet were nailed flush against either side of the stipes.
While many people believe and artists often depict Jesus’ feet placed at the front of the stipes and the use of one nail, the practical truth is that there would have been two nails, one hammered through the top of each foot at the sides of the stipes. The plantar nerve would have been damaged or even severed, resulting in pain similar to the causalgia associated with upper extremity injures. Bending of His knees to align His feet against the stipes would also cause cramping and numbness in the calves, thighs and hips, forcing Jesus to arch His back in any attempt to alleviate the cramps, actions which would have further irritated the wounds on Jesus’ back as they grated on the surface of the stipes. Coupled with broken ribs and other internal injuries this might have also facilitated labored breathing.
With the nailing complete the sign was attached either by nails or cords just above Jesus’ head. The soldiers and the civilian crowd then continued to jeer our condemned Savior, and as was their custom the soldiers divided His clothes among themselves.
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?
Jesus was speaking in Aramaic, and the pronunciation of “…Eloi…” (Eli in Matthew’s account) is remarkably similar to the Hebrew pronunciation of Elijah or its Greek counterpart Elias, leading some in attendance that day to think Jesus was calling upon a prophet to save him. He was not. Rather, this question recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark15:34 conveys the utter emotional and spiritual isolation Jesus experienced while dying on the cross as He addressed His Father, the Most High God. Both accounts state that Jesus “cried with a loud voice” when in anguish he asked, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:34).” God cannot look upon sin, and our sin was laid upon the shoulders of Jesus. God the Father’s face had to therefore be turned away from God the Son so that Jesus could bear the full weight of our transgressions. Even with a mocking crowd nearby, Our Lord was utterly alone.
Luke’s account lends another profound insight into Jesus’ last moments of torture. On its surface Jesus’ prayer “…Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” (23:34) doesn’t seem to say much when in fact it speaks volumes. This simple prayer on behalf not only of those present that day but for all people of all times gives us a penetrating look at the loving heart of Jesus. Jesus was sincere, committed to do everything required to make our redemption possible, and although those in attendance at His crucifixion had only a short view of the situation Jesus was looking across all time and into the hearts of all people because, “…as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:14-17).”
Others did not understand what was being accomplished before their very eyes but Jesus did. I believe that with each lash, each blow, the driving of each nail and even as His blood spilled onto the ground drop by precious drop He was acutely aware of not only the condition of the world in sin but of the spiritual condition of every person who ever lived or will. We were then as now on His heart and He extends His offer of forgiveness to any person at any stage of life who is willing to accept it. Luke’s record of events bears this out, beginning in 23:33 by describing Jesus as being crucified between two criminals. One of them, even in the throes of death, found the energy to mock Jesus (23:39) but the other looked upon our Savior with a different eye. That second man rebuked the first, declaring his own guilt as well as the innocence of Jesus, and humbly acknowledged Jesus as King when he prayed, “…Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom (23:42).” The response was immediate and of eternal consequence when in verse 43 Jesus “…said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Of important note is that the man had no opportunity to make amends to society or those he may have harmed, no chance to perform good works, rites or rituals to earn salvation and there was no possibility of him receiving baptism, yet his salvation was complete and is eternal by God’s grace based solely upon his faith.
John 19:28-30 describes in part what happened next: “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon (a stem of) hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” Luke’s account (23:46) interjects: “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” Two points are noteworthy here, the first being that in his thirst Jesus was provided vinegar to drink. This was not the sedative he had declined as described previously but vinegar alone, which he took but that would not have slaked His thirst. Symbolically it was the bitter capstone of his suffering, and thus Our Lord died. A second and even more profound point is that Jesus had done all in accordance to God’s will, drinking fully of the ‘cup’ and fully entrusting Himself into His Father’s hands for the anticipated outcome. He had done so first in life and then in death, and He would soon do so in the resurrection of which He was assured.
What was the cause of Jesus’ death?
Three notable theories stand out among many, being asphyxiation (suffocation due to decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide levels in the blood), heart attack or rupture, and shock (disruption of the coordinated function of the body’s integrated systems). Most medical experts agree that had Jesus’ condition not been complicated by other injuries His positioning on the cross would have resulted in little or no exacerbated breathing difficulties so that asphyxiation seems unlikely. Unless Jesus had a preexisting condition of which there is no mention in Scripture, heart attack or rupture also seems an unlikely cause, as the pain and injury of scourging alone would not cause a heart attack and at least one full day would be necessary for the heart muscle to weaken and rupture as the result of chest trauma. This leaves the most likely cause of death as the combination of traumatic and hypovolemic shock, an opinion supported by numerous experts on crucifixion including Dr. William Edwards of the Mayo Clinic along with Drs. P. F. Angelino and M. Abrata writing in the journal Sindon (1982).
In the course of a normal crucifixion the victim might survive for a period ranging from three or four hours to three or four days, a span of time likely inversely related to the severity of the scourging, a man’s general physical condition, and age. Insects would alight upon or even burrow into open wounds or the eyes, ears, nose and mouth while birds of prey would tear hungrily at these sites. However, even if the scourging had been relatively mild by Roman standards one or more of the quaternio could hasten the onset of death by breaking a victim’s legs below the knees. This was not done in Jesus’ crucifixion because He had already died. It was also customary to leave a corpse on the cross to be devoured by scavenging animals, but Roman law provided that after securing permission of the Roman judge the family of the condemned could remove the body for burial. Because no one was intended to survive crucifixion the body was never released to the family until the soldiers were certain the victim was dead. Customarily one of the Roman guards would pierce the right side of the victim’s chest with the tip of a sword or lance to ensure a fatal injury taught to and often employed by Roman soldiers. Given that the standard infantry spear was 5 to 6 feet long and Jesus was in an elevated position, one of the quaternio could easily have reached and pierced His chest.
At the time of death the right upper chamber of the heart (the right atrium) would have been filled with blood and the chest filled with effusive fluids as a result of the brutal scourging. The spear tip would have pierced the atrium so that when it was retracted with a quick and jerky motion it would have carried blood adhered to the blade and been followed by some of the effusive fluid from the pleural cavity (of the thorax, or chest), resulting in the recorded phenomenon of ‘blood and water.’ There would have been no great gush of blood or other fluids; rather, after the spear was withdrawn the effusive pressure would have been relieved through the wound, the lung would have collapsed, and thus further flow of blood and watery fluids would have ceased after a brief period of slow seepage.
**Capital punishment by crucifixion had long been widely known and practiced in a variety of manners prior to Jesus’ birth and sacrificial death. Formally abolished by the Emperor Constantine in 341 AD, the practice was not thereafter altogether discontinued. Jews were brutally crucified in the Dachau Concentration Camp and likely others. There are reports from the Sudan, Egypt and elsewhere that Muslim extremists routinely employ it in a variety of ways in the execution of Christians even today.**
A look back and a glimpse into the future
As Jesus’ earthly ministry was drawing to its close He surely faced many opportunities to compromise the purpose of God’s redemptive plan. He told His disciples (Luke 9:22) He was soon to be taken into custody, falsely accused of many things, and in His body experience violent and painful abuse. Emotionally, He would be abandoned and His disciples would deny association with Him so that He would be in all ways utterly alone. Spiritually He would have to abandon even Himself so that His Spirit could depart the flesh it had occupied for thirty-three years. Just one of those opportunities was as Jesus was being arrested. “And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear,” according to Matthew 26:51-54. “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” I have often wondered how many of us, faced with not only capital punishment on behalf of a friend but the torture that preceded it, could resist the human desire to survive, lay aside our pride and bear up as Jesus did. The conclusion to which I arrive is always the same – none.
Six days after Jesus had revealed that he would suffer and die He ascended to a high place, taking Peter, James and John with Him while leaving the remainder of His company at the foot of the mountain. While there His appearance was transfigured in what was a brief glimpse into the glory that is to come after resurrection (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36). The transfiguration itself is a worthy foundation for future study but our focus here is upon the temptations Jesus faced. Although some Bible scholars contend that after His transfiguration Jesus could no longer be subjected to temptation I speculate otherwise, for it was after transfiguration that He suffered so much. Pride and human arrogance are strong motivators to sin, and control of such awesome power as His meant Jesus could have obtained any and every material possession He desired. His human body would surely protest pain and death and Jesus could have avoided it had He so chosen. He instead set every human interest aside, willingly choosing to move forward with God’s plan. In a scene not unlike that of Jesus’ baptism “…behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17:5).”
Satan is a relentless enemy constantly seeking to destroy the souls of men and thwart the plan of God for their redemption. Had he somehow been able to persuade Jesus, Satan could have succeeded. I find no Scriptural record that the devil and his minions have been removed from the world in which we live or that they have in any way diminished their efforts. Rather, I believe that as the time of Christ’s return approaches those evil efforts will increase greatly. We have examined the three categories of temptation – lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. We’ve considered how Jesus demonstrated resistance over each throughout His life among men. While Jesus was sweating blood in Gethsemane, as He was being accused and subsequently abused and as He hung on the cross prior to physical death I can imagine Satan virtually screaming into His ear that Mankind wasn’t worthy of the redemptive effort or suffering, that each lash of the scourge, each penetration of a thorn upon His brow or the driving of each nail could be the last if only Jesus would abandon His mission and succumb to fleshly desires. Still, Jesus endured it all without compromise.
A life laid down for friends and enemies alike
Although Jesus was a friend to the entire human race not everyone was friendly toward Him. This is still true today and many reject the pardon He offers. In living a self-denying sinless life Jesus manifested God’s great love on behalf of all mankind. In His death Jesus paid the penalty for my sin, yours and that of all people of all times. During three days of interment within a cold stone tomb our iniquities were carried as far as the east is from the west. At the moment of resurrection He conquered eternal death and made eternal life the assurance for all who believe. Sadly, every day countless souls leave this mortal life to face eternal doom and separation from God by refusing the gift of life.
Satan’s only victories in our lives are those we allow. Satan is defeated so that we need not be. Satan and his demons offer us all manner of enticements and fill our ears with empty promises regarding happiness and fulfillment to be found through illicit relationships, the acquisition of material goods, or influence and dominion over others. Such self-indulgences may seem to offer temporary happiness but the results will invariably be remorse, regret, sorrow, shame and grief. The empty promises offer happiness and fulfillment but the outcome is to be robbed of the joy found in Christ and Him only.
The King arose
After His resurrection Jesus would experience no more temptation because the victory had been won, but His service and ministry to mankind was neither then nor is it now at its end. Before His ascension Jesus ministered for forty days teaching, showing Himself to His disciples and others as evidence that in death, burial and resurrection He had fulfilled every point of God’s law, all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning Messiah, and assuring them of the Kingdom that is to come. One day Jesus will return in the clouds, first calling believers from their graves to be instantly followed by those who are alive at His appearance. The apostle John received the vision of end-time events and recorded it for us. Dear Friend if you do not know Jesus as Savior I admonish you, I implore you, to read the Revelation and heed its warnings and invitations. In Revelation 3:20 John records the words of Jesus to the church at Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
The door of which Jesus is speaking is the door of our hearts, the in-road to our souls. He will not barge through uninvited, He will not force Himself upon us. We must choose to invite His entrance, and when we do His presence and Spirit impart to us joy that cannot be stolen, peace that passes the understanding of the human intellect and assurance of eternal life in His nurturing presence. Dear Friend, my prayer is that if you have never invited Jesus into your heart you will do so now.
May God’s love abound in your heart, may His peace abide in your spirit and His blessings ever rest upon your shoulders –
Tom