Reflection on Good Friday

Ever heard the term 'excruciating pain'?

"They stripped off his clothes...weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and kneeling before him, they mocked him...They spat upon him...and kept striking him on the head...and then led him off to crucify him". - Matthew 27:28-31

Ever heard the term 'excruciating pain'? Do you know where it comes from? The word actually had to be invented...they couldn't find a word to describe a pain as intense as a crucifixion, so a 'new word' was created...the word EXCRUCIATING, literally means, 'out of the cross'.

In today's society, it's not popular to tell the truth. Talking about what 'REALLY' happened on that hill 2000 years ago, makes people uncomfortable. That's NOT what Jesus would want. He didn't go through what He went through...to have it sugar-coated. What REALLY happened? If you can take it, read on...because Good Friday isn't about what's 'comfortable'. You don't HAVE to, but it couldn't hurt...not like it hurt Him.

He was so overcome with stress and anxiety that He SWEAT BLOOD...it's called hematidrosis, chemicals break down the capillaries in the sweat glands, releasing blood...ever been THAT stressed? He was stripped in public...can you imagine the humiliation? He was whipped and beaten... each whip, made of braided leather with metal balls and hooks woven into each strap, imbed in and tear the flesh...at least 39 times from each soldier. Thorns were placed upon His head, piercing His scalp...ever cut your head? He was struck on the head by a heavy reed, several times... He was suffering from intense dehydration. His heart is racing to pump blood that isn't there. His blood pressure drops causing fainting and collapsing. His kidneys stop working, and His body cannot produce fluids...there's wasn't exactly a doctor around. His intense blood loss causes Him to go into 'Hypovolemic shock'...basically shutting His body down. His muscles and nerve endings exposed, every movement sends intense pain throughout His body, as He is strapped to a Cross beam...it probably weighed more than He did. His every movement, every jolt agitated and re-opened His wounds...on narrow city streets...He couldn't move an inch and not feel it. He had Nine-inch spikes driven through His wrists, piercing the Median nerves...take the pain of hitting your 'funny bone' and multiply it by a thousand. His arms were stretched at least six inches, dislocating both of His shoulders... Raised up by ropes, His flesh tears...words cannot express... His feet were nailed to the Cross beam...pain shoots throughout His body. He went into 'respiratory acidosis'...meaning carbon dioxide in the blood is dissolved as carbonic acid, and the acidity of the blood increases, leading to a very irregular, erratic heartbeat...death is very near. Fluid begins to gather around the heart in the membrane, called pericardial effusion. Around the lungs, plural effusion occurs, because of the sustained rapid heart rate...slowly destroying the entire internal system...His body shuts down.
Unable to lift Himself to breathe anymore, intensely de-hydrated, muscles failing, blood pressure falling...He breathes His last, handing over His Spirit, finishing Passover, and eventually suffocating, dying of asphyxiation. He dies. He has a lance (large sword) thrust through His side, piercing His lung...

For Jesus, it wasn't about His own needs or will...it was about His Father's Will, and the needs of the many (you and me). For you, right now in your life, this week, WHO is it about? Is it about your will, your needs...or His?

If you answered that it's about 'you'...what would it take for you to 'change'? What else would God Himself...Jesus Christ...what else, beyond the Crucifixion would He need to endure, for you to put Him first?

If you answered that it's about 'Him'...what are you doing differently this weekend...this HOLY Weekend, to show Him that you appreciate what He did for you...to make this weekend different?

"They stripped off his clothes...weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and kneeling before him, they mocked him...They spat upon him...and kept striking him on the head...and then led him off to crucify him". - Matthew 27:28-31

It's called the Passion, because that's HOW He loves you...passionately.