His Crucifixion

As I partook of the Sacrament today I thought of Christ's sacrifice.  Specifically I thought of the crucifixion.  Often I focus on the pain he experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane, but today my thoughts were taken to the crucifixion.

Earlier today I had my pocket knife out and I was cleaning up skin around my nails.  My oldest daughter (10) was very concerned.

"Dad don't do that" she said emphatically.

"Why?" I replied.

"Because you could slip and stab your finger.  You could even slip and cut it off!"  My daughter was very concerned.

I sat in sacrament meeting with that same pocket knife in my pocket and thought of Christ's hands.  I wondered how much pressure would need to be applied to that pocket knife before it would cut through the palm of my hand and into the tissue.  What about on my wrist, finding it's way through the bones and tendons.

I thought of Christ's hands being placed against that plank used on the cross.  The nail used for him was sharp at the point but not all the way around.  It was fairly blunt in comparison with my pocket knife.

I envisioned the soldiers resting the tip of that nail on Christ's palm then raising a hammer to apply the pressure needed to piece our Saviors skin.  That blunt nail was used because something sharp like a knife would have sliced or ripped through his hand when they tried to hold him to that cross.

But why did they need to hold him to a cross?  If the punishment was death why take your time and make a show of it?

The punishment was not only death, it was to set an example to those living.  It was to show "If you do something we don't like, we can, and will do this to you."

The process of crucifixion to my knowledge was first recorded around 519 BC when King Darius of Persia crucified 3,000 in Babylon for rebellion (https://www.gotquestions.org/crucifixion.html).

Alexander the Great brought the practice of crucifixion back to the Mediterranean where the Romans adopted it (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14750495/).  For 500 years they refined it until Constantine I abolished it in the 4th century.

So back to my original question, why did it need to be public.  The crucifixion was a way to demonstrate to the people where the power was.  ’Look what we can do, behave or this will be you’.  It instilled fear in subjects.  It was not typically used on Roman citizens, but slaves, dishonored soldiers, foreigners and Christians.

As I partook of the sacrament I thought of the despair felt today.

As of writing this 18 months ago there was a "global pandemic" where governments have required people to stay in their homes and keep masks on their faces.  Businesses, schools, and all sorts of events have been shut down.  Travel has been restricted.  Media, celebrities, and government organizations have all campaigned to distance us from each other.  "Facts" have been so subjective that all you have to do is find someone saying what you want to believe and you will find it, with sources and everything.

In this state of turmoil the spirits of fear and anger have run rampant.  People have stopped seeing each other as fellow humans but instead see someone who is either on my side or against me.  Some have started to feel helpless and hopeless, as if we are simply a leaf floating down a river being carried by whatever current takes us to an unknown, undecided destination.

Today in sacrament I felt gratitude for the world we live in.  We do not have a government of men willing to crucify us using our pain to bring terror to others.  We are free.  Regardless of the power some would have over us they do not and will not, as long as we live free in our hearts and in our minds.

Christ was not unique in being crucified.  He was not the only one to suffer this torture and perhaps this is why I find myself usually reflecting on the Garden of Gethsemane where his suffering was unique.  Christ, however, was uniquely able to stop the crucifixion at any point, yet he did not.  He chose to endure the worst tortures man could think of against another man.  And in that moment God's spirit was also withdrawn from him and Christ endured it truly alone.

He drank from that bitter cup to pay ransom for our sins.  As a sinless vessel He payed the ultimate price for me.  He laid there while soldiers placed a nail in the middle of his palm.  As they raised that hammer he did not resist.  With each strike of the hammer and each moment he hung there his body was further broken but His resolve never was.

Christ bore my burden so that I may live in the hope of salvation.  The chains of sin are what He broke, because I can not do that on my own.  Christ Sets me free.