Out of the Cross- Part II

 NOW, THE REST OF THE STORY….as Dr. Alexander Metherell continues,

Once a person is hanging on the cross in the vertical position, crucifixion is an agonizing slow death by asphyxiation. The stresses that are placed on the muscles and the diaphragm in the inhaled position are acute; one, literally, must push up on his feet so the tension in the muscles is eased for a moment, allowing him to exhale. Each rise and fall upon the nail causes the flesh to tear in the foot until it eventually locks against the tarsal bone. Each breath was labored and exhaustive as Christ would scrape his bloodied back against the rough, coarse wood of the cross. As his breathing slowed, a medical condition known as respiratory acidosis occurs…carbon dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid which causes an irregular heartbeat. This faint, but irregular heartbeat, would have been known by Jesus and He would have known the very minute of his death before he uttered, “Lord, into Thy Hands I commit my Spirit.” Death would have been sure, but not to a Roman guard. So, upon examination, the soldier took a spear and thrust it in his side, between his ribs, through his lung and into his heart.

A spear thrust into the heart of God….because of me.

All that has been described is because of ME....MY SIN…..MY SHAME...MY FAILURES….MY PLACE.

That cross was meant for me …and you. Each labored breath, as Christ rose upon that nail, had the weight of the sin of the world on his shoulders…..YOUR SIN AND MINE. He did not have to die; rather He chose to take my place. At any moment, he could have spoken just one word….COME, and the entire heavenly host would have left the glories of heaven in a mass assault against the darkness and evil of that crucifixion. But, he did not cry out for the angels. He would rather have endured the torture and the shame of that cross than to spend eternity without you and me. He spoke but one phrase that resounded throughout the heavenly realm…..IT IS FINISHED !!!!

He gave His life to pay a debt He did not owe and now the torture, the pain, the suffering of the Crucifixion matters not at all …if you and I fail to accept what Christ did to claim us as His own. Do you belong to Him or was His death wasted? Was the pain of this horrific event just a bad story in the history of the world or does it have a personal significance to you? Do you know my Jesus of the Cross or are His life and death of little importance in the greater scheme of your life?

The work has been done…it is finished….and the Christ of Calvary is RISEN.

Is He Alive in You Today?…..if not, let’s talk …the sooner, the better.

Blessed ….Because of the Cross,

WPQ