© 2022 Don Pinson | [Download]
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Ladies and Gentlemen, the following story is why you and I can know God…
“But this One was different. Some of the soldiers had noticed the way He had taken the scourging without crying out like most men did. The soldiers who had been at the trials had noticed the way He didn’t answer trumped-up charges; refusing to dignify such accusations with an answer. The times He did speak revealed His deep inner peace. He seemed to be drawing strength from a Source they couldn’t identify, but yet was very evident.
“However, the supreme test was about to occur.
“The soldiers get up, shift their armor into place, and start to form a circle around Jesus. But then they see something that they’ve never seen in all their years of crucifying men. Jesus, of His own will, moves over to His cross, and stretches Himself out on it. He then extends His hands and waits for the nails. They are shocked! Never, among all the many experiences of crucifixion they’ve had, have they ever had anyone willingly accept a cross. This Man is different! Jesus actions seem to say, “No one takes my life from Me; I lay it down willingly.” But why? Why would He embrace a cross?
“But they didn’t have time to ask questions. Besides, soldiers weren’t trained to think, only to obey orders; and they had an order from the governor to execute this Man. He must have done something worthy of death. They had a job to do!
“(Oh, the tragedy of acting without thinking! This is how most governmental wrongs have been accomplished: A few political schemers instigated evil while others assumed they weren’t qualified to question the actions of these in such high realms of government!) But to continue the story…
“One of the soldiers picked up a spike. With the other hand he grabbed a mallet, then he bent over the outstretched arm of Jesus. Out of habit he secured Jesus’ arm by pressing his knee against it. But with this Man there was no resistance, no pulling away as the nail was placed in His hand. The soldier, amazed that a man could face crucifixion this way, nevertheless, had a job to do.
“The soldier raised the mallet, and with a mighty blow brought it down against the spike. The huge nail ripped through Jesus’ hand, and the blood squirted out onto the cross piece. In a natural reflex to the pain, Jesus’ arm jerked, enlarging the hole in His hand. His blood begins to run over the edge of the beam and form a puddle on the ground.
“Now the soldiers hold His other arm against the opposite side of the cross. Though Jesus’ body is writhing in pain, He makes no effort to remove His other arm. Quickly the spike is driven through the other hand. The muscles in Jesus’ upper body are now beginning to spasm, as the soldiers move quickly to His feet.
“In all this torture, amazingly, there are no shrieks of pain coming from Jesus’ lips! Though He is feeling the pain the same way as the previous two men who were crucified that day, there is the noticeable absence of the loud screams. He is suffering in silence. This created for the soldiers a disturbing feeling that this was all wrong.”
(Largely taken from Why God Birthed America, by Don Pinson, pp. 17-18)
Have you had the disturbing feeling that you’ve treated Jesus like He was just another man?
Think about it; because if you don’t, someone else will do your thinking for you—and for your children! And you won’t like what that brings to you. I’m Don Pinson; this has been Think About It.