The Crucifixion

The Crucifixion

You are in the very busy streets of Jerusalem, It is an early Friday morning. it seems to be very much busier and noisier than a normal Friday morning. The crowd sounds angry. Your head is full of the noises of shouting and jeering............... mocking words can be heard............  fingers are being pointed.

You wonder what exactly is happening. You push your way to the front of this rabble of a crowd. 

You see three men, across their shoulders, are large spars of heavy wood. These are the spars that will slot into the upright wood that will make the crosses on which these three men will be nailed and will die.

They are struggling under the weight and it is plain to see that they have been beaten and tortured prior to having to carry these spars. Every so often the three slow their pace and the Roman soldiers who are there take up their whips with their many tails and spikes and lash the backs of the three men. You can hear them as they eat into the flesh, you can almost feel the pain.........

One of the men you recognise to be Jesus, the same Jesus who had ridden into Jerusalem a few days earlier to praise and adulation. As you watch Jesus falls to the ground....... The soldiers lash out telling him to move. He picks himself up and again slowly makes his way forward up the narrow road...............

The crowd follows and you walk alongside Jesus and he toils under the weight.......... No longer do you hear the yelling of the crowd you are caught up in the pain of this man........... Your heart goes out to him.

Again Jesus falls........ again the soldiers beat him about the head and body.......... You so wish you were able to move forward and put a stop to this or offer some help to Jesus.

Slowly they move forward again............

Once more Jesus falls............... This time one of the soldiers turns to a large strong looking man and makes him lift the spar from Jesus' shoulders..........

The procession of men and soldiers with the man now carrying Jesus weight head towards the city gates and pass out through them, you move with them..............

Not far from the gates there is an ugly formed hill, Golgotha..............

They make their way to its summit and the three spars are left to fall to the ground with a clatter............

Two of the soldiers manhandle Jesus roughly throwing him to the ground on top of the large spar that he and the other man have carried to this place.............

From a leather pouch around his waist, one of the soldiers draws out a large-headed iron hammer and three very long nails sharply pointed pieces of metal..........

The first of these pieces of shaped metal is placed to the wrist of Jesus........ his arm is stretched out by the other soldier and the metal is hammered home............. You can hear the shattering of bones as it penetrates.......... The soldier keeps hammering making sure the metal is firmly embedded in the wooden spar............

It is difficult to watch................

The other arm of Jesus is stretched out and the process begins with another metal rod and it is hammered through the wrist of Jesus into the other end of the spar...............

Ropes are secured to both ends of the spar and pulled upwards the body of Jesus hauled up the large standing tree like wood that had been made ready for this act............

It is pulled until it falls into the notch ready to take it. You hear as it falls into place forming the cross on which Jesus will be left to die............... His feet are crossed and the last of the three metal spikes is driven through his feet and into the triangular bracket that is fitted to the down spar of the cross..........

You watch, and you can feel the tears run down your cheeks as the final crash of the hammer secures his feet...............

The gathered crowd and soldiers jeer and mock, taunting Jesus and the other two............. One of the soldiers yells, "get yourself down from there." .................

A ladder is brought forward and one of the soldiers brings forward a prepared notice. The soldier climbs level to the face of Jesus and nails this notice to the cross above his head. It reads, "Jesus, King of the Jews."..............

Jesus turns and looks to the prisoner on his right-hand side and says to him, "Today you will be with me in Paradise......... This man had spoken some words to Jesus about them deserving to die but him not....................

It begins to rain........... The sky turns black and threatening........ thunder and lightning fill the sky.......

It feels like the middle of the night but it is still only before three o'clock in the afternoon............

In one of the lulls between claps of thunder, Jesus can be heard speaking loudly, "Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" ............"My God, My God why have you forsaken me?"

You watch with a heavy heart...............

Again Jesus calls out........  "Father forgive them, they know not what they do"....................

You feel something very meaningful touch the inner depths of your being as you hear these words.........

You move a little closer to the cross.......  your eyes are held by his eyes, even in all of this agony and horror there is a feeling of love and caring............

You stop............ you look up into the eyes of Jesus............

Jesus speaks to you..............

You become aware of many of the past errors and faults of your life but you are aware of a deep feeling that this is now in the past forgotten and forgiven..........

Jesus calls out one last time, it is three o'clock........... he says,  "Tetelestai", "It is finished."

Finally, he calls out, "o patéras sta chéria sas diaprátto to pnévma mou" "Father into your hands I commit my spirit."

Slowly you turn and walk away, not as you would have expected with a heavy heart, but in a real sense of having witnessed something very special happening. You have a sense of having been freed from all past sins and errors.

Give Thanks