KEEP A CROSS EYED FOCUS
Have you ever really thought about the price your sin cost? What Jesus did for you on the cross? Let's back up a bit to before the crucifixion. Jesus knew he was going to be betrayed. Matthew 26 tells us about how Judas sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver. The sign of the betrayal was a kiss. After the kiss Jesus was arrested. If any of you have been arrested you know that it is not a pleasant thing to happen. When Jesus came before the judge there was no one there to say anything against Him so in society today the person would be set free, but Jesus was still held and convicted. He was bound, tied up and led before Pilate. Even Pilate could not find fault in Jesus. When asked who they should release the people asked for a convicted felon to be released instead of someone who had never done anything wrong. After they convicted Him they took Him and put a crown of thorns on his head and a purple robe over his shoulders. The thorn bush they used has 2” thorns on it and it was platted and pushed down on Jesus head and tore into His skin. He was given a reed and the soldiers knelt before Him and mocked Him calling Him the king of the Jews. This is described in Matthew 27. all four of the Gospels speak of the betrayal and of how Jesus was found sinless. It was the people who decided that a convicted murderer should be released instead of Jesus. At the time that Jesus was taken before Pilate it was Roman Law that the convicted be whipped. Jesus was bound and whipped with a whip called a cat-of-nine-tails. It is a small whip with 9 strands of leather on it and shards of glass and pottery on each strand so that each time it is drawn across the back of the person being whipped it digs in and tears the flesh away. Jesus was whipped 39 times with this very cruel instrument of torture.
After the scourging and the mocking, being spat on, the crown of thorns jammed on His head, the soldiers made Jesus pick up a heavy cross and carry it through the streets of the city. In His weakened state Jesus stumbled under the weight of the cross. The soldiers found someone in the crowd and made him carry the cross for Jesus. The cross is also a symbol of our sin which Jesus carried with Him to the death. When He got to the top of the hill of Golgotha where he was to be crucified the soldiers took His clothes and divided them amongst themselves.
On top of the hill the cross was laid on the ground and Jesus was laid on it and the nails were driven into His hands and His feet. These were not your normal everyday nails that are used to hold wood together. They were spikes that would make any one of us cringe if we could even imagine them going through our hands or feet. They were driven in with a large heavy hammer similar to a sledge hammer of now a days. After he was nailed to the cross it was raised to a standing position and dropped into a hole. This drop would be enough to dislocate every bone in the human body. By this time the person would not be able to breathe without having to push himself up with his feet which have spikes driven into them. Most people would die from the pain alone let alone the drop into the whole. Jesus did not die then and there.
Now when Jesus was crucified there were two criminals crucified with Him. One on the left and one on the right. The one on the left was mocking Jesus and saying “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”
the one on the right rebuked the one on the left and said,Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. “ (Luke 23:39-42) To this Jesus replied in verse 43, And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
When this was finished the soldiers offered Jesus some vinegar on a sponge to drink. At this time Jesus cried out to the Father, God, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46) Then when Jesus was dead the soldiers pierced Jesus side and blood and water flowed from the hole.
All this was done to pay the penalty of your sin and mine. What is sin? Well let's look at the ten commandments for that answer. Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever looked at someone to lust after them? How about using the Lord's name as a cuss word? All of these things are sin. The penalty for sin is eternal separation from the God who created us. For this reason Jesus went through all the pain and suffering of the cross. When we stand before the greatest judge of all the world will He find us guilty? Will He be there sentencing us to death and eternal separation from Him? Jesus went to the cross and went through all that pain so that when we stand before God at the great judgment day He can say to His Father, “I have paid for that persons sin.” All we have to do is repent, turn from our wicked lives, and ask for forgiveness for our sins. Allow Jesus to take the penalty from us.
It is not an easy road that the Christian walks. We stumble and fall, but Jesus picks us up and dusts us off and encourages us to carry on. Remember even Jesus had to have help to carry the cross to Calvary. We will not be perfect till we see God face to face in Heaven. The only perfect one was His Son and we hung Him on a cross and killed Him for it. We need to keep the cross in the center of all we say and do because that is what Jesus died for. Keep our eyes focused on Him and when things get tough, and they will, we can always turn to Him for comfort and encouragement. Keep a Cross Eyed Focus and you can't go wrong.
