Wednesday, the Fourth Week of Lent

Eleventh Station of the Cross – Jesus is nailed to the cross

   Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall, a poison, before He was nailed to the cross.  This mixture was sometimes given to those being crucified to lessen the pain or speed death.  Jesus refused to accept it.  He was not to die from poison nor was His suffering to be lessened.  He had freely chosen to take our sins upon Himself and would not turn from the pain and death necessary to pay the cost for those sins.

   His arms were outstretched on the cross.  Quite probably the soldiers used a rope tied above His wrist to extend His arms as far as possible, holding them there while the nails were driven through.  Nails at the time of Christ’s crucifixion were not the slim shafts of steel we use today.  The points weren’t nearly as sharp and piercing.  They were typical of the time; simple and crude.  They would have been rough, most likely rusted and more blunt than sharp.

   Were His feet on a block as we see on many crucifixes or nailed to the sides of the cross as is sometimes seen?  Archaeological evidence suggests that His feet would have been nailed to the sides of the cross.  Either way the pain and agony would have been unfathomable.

   Crucifixion was not meant as a quick execution.  It was intended to be slow and extremely painful.  The very definition of cruel and unusual punishment.  The Romans had perfected their methods to ensure that it would be both.  Death often took hours or even days.  Since Jesus was crucified on the day of Preparation for the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders asked Pilate that the legs of those still alive be broken to speed their death.  They didn’t want them on the cross for Sabbath.  This to me speaks of the corruption of the Jewish leaders of the time.  They had no issue demanding that a man be crucified but wanted to make sure it didn’t interfere with the Sabbath.

   How often are we concerned with appearances just as the Jewish leaders?  Do we make a show of keeping the Sabbath for others to see, but ignore it in our hearts?  Are we pious only on Sunday, leaving the rest of the week for our earthly desires?  These are questions we must ask ourselves as we contemplate Jesus hanging on the cross for our sake.