How He Died
Consider the following when you think of what actually ended the life of the Creator incarnate Jesus Christ for I believe it was not the cross that killed Him.
Matthew 26: 36 & 39, 36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]. Consider what it is that the cup Christ speaks of contains. Have you considered that He may not be talking to the Creator about the physical death? What have you done to bring pain to another and therefore Christ? What have you done to decrease His pain?
Matthew 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! Many have spoken of this crown that was placed onto my Saviors head. Some say that the thorns were long enough that it could have even blinded Him in an eye. The crown was surely not what He deserved however it was part of prophecy that had to be fulfilled. But did he feel the pain from the thorns, or something else? Considering the nature of the thorns, gloves would surely have been needed and it was likely pressed in place with a stick or something, not the bare hand of one of the mockers but that pain was nothing to that which had already begun inside.
You see the pain that had begun in the garden of Gethsemane was not a physical pain but a pain of loss and a burden that only Christ could bear. It was the pain of generations of sin. I cannot say that I have not attributed to this pain. We all have but we have the choice to lessen this burden when we come to know the Creator and Jesus as our Savior. The pains of generations of people had begun to be amassed within the human presences of the Creator incarnate.
Matthew 27:30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. Consider that Christ could not have felt the pain of the reed driving the crown further into His flesh as another generation and generation upon generation of sin was placed on Him to carry for us. All we have to do is believe. The sins of those from Sodom and Gomorra, sins of Abraham's descendents that number like unto the stars, your sins as well and mine.
Matthew 27:31 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. Considering what the Lord was already bearing in his heart this cross was surely nothing. What then was the reason that Simon was needed? Was it the weight of the cross itself, or the weight of the sins of the generations He was already carrying.
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. I have faith but I cannot, as of yet move mountains. I have often wondered why until I ask myself one question. How would this glorify the Creator. While I am sure it would make the early news my heart is not in this for the Lords work, the Creators will. Daily we must pray to receive direction from the Lord for your life, that new things are revealed and that our purpose for being here is opened unto our hearts. But as a sinner we still add to the pain that the creator must subsume.
Matthew 27:33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, I guess the Lord figured that by now it was going to be all over soon as the place of death loomed before Him on His walk. It was not the heat that bothered him nor the walk as after all the Lord never used a taxi. . . well maybe a donkey once or twice. It was the generations yet to come and their sin which was yet to be included in His burden still being heaped upon him. As He begun to undertake the burden I am sure He realized that the population increased as so did the burden and knowing the name of everyone that contributed to the pain. I am sure however as this happened He had to be thinking, what of those I left behind, their teaching? Surely some must have heard and accepted the Grace of Salvation. But alas because of our burden He was carrying at this point he did not know that there were indeed people that have and do understand the Grace of the Lord and Creator.
Matthew 27: 35 And they crucified him . . . Today we see the empty Cross as a reminder of what happened there however for the Lord it did not end there at the cross. There was still more sin to endure. As the nails went into the hand, another generation of sin and pain. Then the feet, another generation of sin and pain. Once they had Him secured with the nails and rope the cross was raised and it dropped into the hole to keep it erect. With the nails holding Him even with ropes there was surely the tearing of flesh, yet He felt none of it as yet another generation of sin and pain arrived.
Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Even unto the cross the Lord is not thinking about the burden He carries for us He ask for forgiveness, not relief from the cross. Forgiveness not just for those that put Him on the cross but for our blindness to the truth and that it had to take the cross and later the resurrection for us to see.
Matthew 27:39-40, 39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest [it] in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. The Lord surely could have done just that, called tens of thousands of legions of angles and come down from the cross but for our sake, if He heard He remained and accepted another generation of sin and pain.
Luke 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Consider the time the Lord spent hanging on the cross it was surely not over quickly as the inflection of another generation of sin and pain was thrust upon Him to endure.
We know the Creator forsakes no one and today even through sin the Lord stands to mediate for us and cleans us of our sin so that the Creator will accept us. We are not perfect and the Lord embraced our sin so that we could stand clean before the Creator BUT the Lord was forsaken.
Forsaken from the Greek lexicon: leave
1) abandon, desert, leave in straits, leave helpless, totally abandoned, utterly forsaken
2) to leave behind among, to leave surviving.
The Lord was alone to suffer in Sin because the Creator did indeed create a perfect world and could not look upon the sins of the generations. The sin carried by the Lord onto the cross had to be covered with blood to be forgiven, His blood! There was but one Lamb that could accept the sin of all generations and provide us salvation.
Matthew 27:50 50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. As the final generations of sin was thrust the Lord the cry noted above was heard and he died. Today we live in one generation of sin that the Lord has indeed carried with Him to the cross. Which generation only the Creator knows. The last Generation? Well it could be. What have you done to lighten the load on your Savior. While it is true, Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”; it is equally true that Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” The Lords Grace through your faith and belief in him is all it takes.
If you don't know the Lord as your personal Savior it does not take much. You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Prayer is talking with God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer: "Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life and make me the kind of person You want me to be."
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, pray this prayer right now. Placing your faith in Christ will result in His coming into your life as He has promised. This will begin a relationship with Him that will grow more intimate as you come to know Him better. And with Him at its center, your life will take on a whole new dimension -- a spiritual one -- bringing more harmony and fulfillment to all of your relationships.
