Crucifixion Tag

September 6, 2020

The Water and the Blood

David Dykes

DEATH BY INCONVENIENCE To me it is the height of hypocrisy that the Jewish leaders were so concerned about sunset messing with their religious holiday that they appealed to Pilate to hasten the death of the three men being crucified. They didn’t want a bloody body to inconvenience them from their religious acts. John 19:28-37.

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August 30, 2020

The Word Heard Around the World

David Dykes

KNOWING Can you imagine living your whole life anticipating the most horrible death possible? No doubt Jesus saw hundreds of Roman crucifixions as He was growing up. He must have thought, “That’s me someday.” Every time Joseph planed a rough piece of wood, Jesus probably thought about the cross. Every time Joseph pounded nails in wood, Jesus surely thought of the last time His human ears would hear that sound. John 19:28-30.

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August 23, 2020

The Faces at Golgotha

David Dykes

INCONCEIVABLE The Gospel writers don’t go into minute detail about the crucifixion because all of their First-Century readers had witnessed the horror of crucifixion with their own eyes. We really don’t have a modern frame of reference for it. It would be like me going back to the time of Jesus and saying there was a head-on collision on Loop 49 and none of the passengers were wearing seatbelts. You get the picture—but they wouldn’t. We can’t begin to imagine the wickedness and cruelty of Roman crucifixion. John 19:17-27.

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April 12, 2020

How’s Your Heart?

ON THE ROAD AGAIN After the two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus recognized him, they were so fired up they got up and returned to Jerusalem–seven miles. It’s uphill in that direction, but I can imagine they literally ran. What had been a road of despair was now a road of rejoicing. When they found the eleven disciples, they couldn’t keep silent. “It’s true! We’ve seen the Lord! He is ALIVE!” And there was celebration on the first Easter evening—and we’ve been celebrating ever since! Their hearts were on fire. The spark from one heart ignited the hearts of others. Luke 24:13-29.

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June 29, 2003

The Extreme Love of the Cross

God’s judgement against sin is like a raging wildfire—nothing can stop it. The only way you and I can escape it is to stand where the fire of God’s judgement has already fallen. And the only safe place is to stand at the cross of Jesus, where God’s judgement against sin has already burned.

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June 15, 2003

Three Cross-Roads

When the thief on the cross prayed His prayer of faith, Jesus responded with a three-fold promise. He said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” He didn’t say, “tomorrow” or “in three days” or “in forty days when I ascend” or “next year” or “in a thousand years.” He didn’t say, “after you’ve been baptized” or “after you’ve gone through catechism” or “after you’ve spent a few years in purgatory.” No, He told Jason, “TODAY, you’ll be with me.” The great part of this promise for us is the moment a Christian dies they can be with the Lord in paradise. The Bible doesn’t teach the doctrine of limbo, or purgatory, or soul sleep. We are told when a Christian dies they are “absent from the Body and present with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:8) If you’ve trusted Jesus, then the moment you die, you can claim that part of His promise, “Today, you’ll be with me in paradise.”

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June 8, 2003

The Place of the Skull

As a boy, when I read in the Bible that Pilate had Jesus “scourged” I didn’t understand that word. I remember asking my Pastor, Brother Fred, what that word meant. He could have replied it meant to “be beaten” and he would have been technically correct. Instead he gave me an answer I’ll never forget. He said, “David, that was when a cruel Roman soldier turned the bare back of Jesus into hamburger meat.” Don’t forget—at any moment during His torture He could have escaped. He could have said, “God these people aren’t worth this kind of pain and suffering. He told Peter He could have called 12 legions of angels to rescue Him. But He didn’t—because He loves us.

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