John 3:16 - For God so loved.....
Chapters of Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19
(Part of the following is from the MacArthur NKJ Study Bible footnotes)
By Jewish reckoning, "a day" begins at daybreak (about 6 am). On Friday, at daybreak, Jesus, though innocent, was sentenced to be crucified. First, Jesus was SCOURGED. The scourging whip, known as a flagellum, consisted of several strands of leather attached to a wooden handle. Each strand had a piece of metal or bone attached to the end.
Both wrists of Jesus were bound to a post. In order to make the flesh of His back tight, His hands were pulled high over His head. With a flagellum, the flesh could literally be torn off down to the bone. By cutting through muscles, the kidneys and/or other internal organs could be seen. After Jesus Christ was scourged, "HIS APPREARANCE WAS SO DISFIGURED BEYOND THAT OF ANY MAN AND HIS FORM MARRED BEYOND HUMAN LIKENESS."
(Isaiah 52:14 *NIV)
The cross that Jesus tried to bear may have weighed as much as 200 pounds. That was an impossible load for a man who had been so horribly scourged, to bear alone. Crucifixion was a punishment of slow torture. The large nails (spikes) were hammered through His hands (or wrists). His feet were nailed through the instep (or Achilles tendon).
The 3rd hour (9 am) Jesus, the son of God, was nailed to the cross. The nails held the total weight of His body and continued to pull His torn and bleeding wounds. The hours dragged on - His suffering becoming unbearable. From the 6th hour (12 noon) until the 9th hour (3 pm), darkness covered the whole land. After hanging on the cross for 6 hours, Jesus cried out and then gave up His spirit and died.
A disciple took the body of Christ, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and placed it in his own new tomb. The disciple rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb to seal it. A guard was posted to keep watch day and night.
Then, very early on the 3rd day, (on Sunday), JESUS CHRIST AROSE FROM THE DEAD. He came through the tomb that remained sealed. Afterward, an angel rolled the stone away and the people went in and saw where he had laid. The Bible states that when Simon Peter went into the tomb, "he saw the linen cloths lying there and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself."
(John 20: 6-7)
Because of what Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God, suffered for MY sins, I was prompted to write this poem:
Sharp bits of metal on the whip scourged Him whose love abides.
It tore deep wounds of open flesh, exposing His insides.
WE pierced Him with a crown of thorns, WE slapped His bleeding face.
WE mocked Him and WE spat on Him, yet, He was filled with grace.
WE put a load upon His back; He fell beneath "the tree"
Still, Jesus Christ continued on...to die for you and me!
Then, WE put Jesus on the cross...the one who ne'er did sin
WE nailed His precious hands and feet and tore God's son again!
Of garments, WE, then stripped Him bare - and still, with love so true,
"Father, He prayed, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
"In agony, He said "I thirst." None gave water to sup.
When Christ said "It is finished." - 'Twas sin's last dregs of the cup.
No one, but God, could know the pain He suffered, all to save.
For every soul, He bled and died - and then rose from the grave.