E119 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - Jesus on the Cross - Part 2 of 4

Hope’s Harbor

Gritty Bible Devotions

Episode #119

Title: Jesus on the Cross – Part 2 of 4

Date: August 14, 2023

Contact: info@hopesharbor.net

Key verse(s): Matthew 27:22 & 23 –

Vs 22 – ‘Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"

Vs 23 – ‘Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"

Intro: When Jesus was spiked to the cross it was part of the most stupendous event in the history of creation up to that point, and maybe beyond.

The innocent Son of GOD. Condemned to die at the hands of religious people.

But wait… on that cross a miracle occurred.

And it will be a miracle if I can even begin to fully tell of this tragedy.

A tragedy that brought salvation down to us so all we have to do is ask for it.

Devotion focus: Jesus on the cross to die and we go free – if we choose

Please keep in mind as we examine what happened the day Jesus died on the cross, we have a choice to make. If you have never made a choice for where you will spend eternity, Jesus says to you as He did a priest one night, “Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3 

The priest asked how it is possible, to be born again. Jesus explained and then told him, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16 – 18.

So there is the choice put before us concerning the saving of our souls and our eternal destiny.

And then for those who have made the choice to believe and trust the Son of GOD to save our souls, we must choose to live by His life as put forth in the New Testament. Reading the Bible daily, prayerfully, and giving time to take in the truths we encounter within Holy Scripture, is how we learn how to live the new life.

In the previous episode, E118, the actions leading up to Jesus being arrested, beaten, sentenced to death, then made to carry a cross were observed.

Now, for the event in which Jesus was spiked to the cross.

Roman soldiers most likely hammered spikes through Jesus’ hands or wrists (scholars still debate which, however, the Bible states hands), and through the ankles. (There is an image of skeletal remains in which a spike is still through the ankle. You may view this image in the show notes Appendix at hopesharbor.net)

How Jesus was hung on the cross is conjecture based on the Roman practice at the time and the fact Jesus told Doubting Thomas to touch His hands, indicating where spikes went through.

The main thing here is Jesus was hung on the cross in an extremely painful way. And there He hangs, dying.

Added to the physical pain of being crucified, Jesus suffered the mocking of the Jewish priests attending His death. Do you know the fate of the human race hung in the balance? It did from the human standpoint, although Jesus predetermined to die for our sins. This decision was made before He and GOD the Father, and Holy Spirit created the world. (Revelation 13:8; also read Genesis chapter One)

Now, the fact Jesus didn’t come down off the cross as challenged by the priests was due to His mission to atone for the sin of the human race and then be able to offer forgiveness and redemption and new life to us. He had to die.

So He stayed on the cross to completely pay for our sins.

Jesus made seven statements from the cross that we know of. To me, the most important was when He declared, “It is finished!” in John 19:30

In the context of His life and ministry, this statement meant the payment for all sin was completely paid.

Now, philosophers and critics have asked if all sin, that is the disposition of sin like that of a virus, is paid for, all past sins, present sins, and future sins, then why do people still go to hell?

This is a great question. The answer is that people go to hell because they choose to. They reject the payment Jesus made and chose to face GOD on their own merit. I don’t know about you, but I shudder to think of facing GOD on my merit. Because of the sins I have committed already, they are enough to send me to hell. How do I know? Because GOD requires a perfect life when we are judged. You tell me of any person you know who is perfect. I would like to meet them.

After Jesus died on the cross their bodies were ordered taken down. The two thieves were still alive so the soldiers broke their legs to prevent them from pushing up and taking another breath. But when they came to Jesus and saw He was already dead, one of the soldiers took a spear and thrust it through Jesus’s side and into His heart to ensure death. The Bible records that blood and water came out. This indicated Jesus was dead because the serum separated from the blood, hence the blood and water.

It is interesting that one of the people who undertook to care for Jesus’s body was the priest, Nicodemus. He’s the one who came to Jesus at night as recorded in John chapter three.

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’s body and placed it into a nearby tomb. Mary Magdalene was one of the women who followed to see where Jesus was buried.

And there they sat at the tomb.

Can you even imagine the shock and trauma of having watched the crucifixion and death of their beloved Jesus? To sit at the tomb, knowing He was dead. 

Summary: Jesus died on the cross. This is a fact if you believe the Biblical record. If, as many skeptics do, you don’t believe this as fact, then nothing else the Bible has to offer is of any value to you, other than an interesting document.

Action to consider: Read the accounts of the crucifixion in each of the four Gospels. Let the tragedy soak into your soul. The tragedy that the Son of GOD had to die for your sins

And then consider that for GOD the apparent tragedy was part of His plan to rescue the whole human race. I’ve got to tell you as a former SWAT officer trained in hostage rescue, I like the fact Jesus kicked down the door behind which I was held hostage. And set me free.

Next week’s devotion: Jesus off the Cross