Those Final, Dreadful Hours, Part 2

In the final hours before his death Jesus was turned over the Roman soldier. What ensued was crucial. Just prior Jesus had been dragged through a series of mock trials, but now it was the object of unimaginable cruelty and suffering today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll urges us to engage in sobering biblical accounts recorded in Matthew 27 presentation. It started on Fridays program, in case you missed it again today with helpful highlights referring to the events that preceded the crucifixion of Christ. Chuck titled his message was final dreadful father how grateful we are or all Christ endured on our behalf. How grateful we are the Calvary covers it all. I said in despair, he took on them. There Calvary covers it all.

We said in silence and in all of you are God and none other than we worship the Savior and none other.

For he who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in for that reason we come boldly to the throne in prayer and for that reason, we give generously to the work of ministry for your greater glory and honor of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. We pray these things in his name.

Everyone said a man you're listening to to study the book of Matthew Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures study by going to inside world.org/studies another message from Chuck titled those final dreadful hours, not one of us has ever witnessed a crucifixion. Thank God we don't know the procedure we haven't even a mental image except from artists who can never do it service. How can you possibly put on canvas. Words like I'm going to read those days there were two kinds of scourging or flogging Jewish and Roman Jewish method as described in Deuteronomy 25, 123 where we are told that a person was not to be beaten more than 40 times because the Jew was afraid of breaking the law of God, he would commonly strike the victim 39 times making sure he counted meticulously so that it didn't go beyond 40. But in Roman scourging. There was no specified number of times that a victim could be beaten. Think of that. Understandably, then the Romans commonly called their torturous active scourging halfway dead before the scourging began.

The victim was scriptable clothing and bent forward over a low, thick stump or post at the base of the posts were for metal rings the wrists and the ankles of the victim were shackled to the rings.

Jesus was stripped of his garments bent low over the post with wrists and ankles shackled into that position. The scourging was done by a man called a lick for LRC to your a professional in the grim part of torture.

The instrument used for scourging was called a flagellum a piece of wood, 14 to 18 inches long, circular in shape, not unlike our own broom handle, only shorter. To which were attached long leather thongs into these leather thongs or straps were some bits of glass, bone and pieces of metal. Jim Bishop in his work the day Christ died as these details the soldier who performed the flagellum. The flagellation's moved to a position about 6 feet behind the victim spread his legs before Jonathan was brought back all the way and was soon forward making a dog from sound as the strips of leather smacked against the back of the rib cage. The bits of bone and chain curled around the right side of the body and raise small sub continuous hemorrhages on the chest. The flagellum came back again aim slightly lower and again aim higher and began and began and again crashing against the skin and flesh the flagellum. The flagellum now moving in slow, heavy rhythm, it was designed to reduce the naked body to strips. Overall place and inflamed bleeding wounds. It was not uncommon for man to die. I should add that it was not uncommon for the teeth to chatter like a death rattle in that horrible time of panic in the body shook uncontrollably. That's our Savior, scourged by brutal Roman soldiers who could care less about who he wants just another crucifixion criminal to them when I reread all this. If the victim lived through it and Jesus did, which tells us something of his physical condition he was in great physical shape to endure such torture. They leave him now along a path we read of it in verse 32 through 34. Along the way they come across or they came across a man named Simon the Jewish name.

He was from styrene's agreed settlement located west of Alexandria in northern Africa on the coast of the Mediterranean had a large Jewish population. Simon being Jewish. No doubt was reared in this prosperous trade center. Quite likely had come to Jerusalem at the time of Passover. He's randomly chosen and to begin with.

These forced into the scene, which he never expected as a visitor in the land of Israel. He's forced to carry Jesus across verse 32 in not the entire cross.

No one could carry 450 pounds. Back then they carried only the cross beam which is the horizontal piece that weighed approximately 200. It was heavy enough so heavy that part of it dragged on the ground as it was carried on the shoulder or under the arm as long as the victim could carry it so they brought him in and he he carried the cross for Jesus and then we read they went out to a place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull doesn't mean skull were there. It means it was the terrain shaped like a massive skull dog up as a Hebrew word that answers to training on in the Greek are Calvary, which is Latin standing for the same thing.

The whole idea of a shape of the skull. How simply Matthew records it and the details are left out like I'm giving you because those in the first century are all familiar with crucifixion. They've all witnessed it is the most common form of Roman capital punishment, which they took delight in because it stated to everyone. Crime does not pay rebel against the Emperor.

That's where you wind up. It also explains why Jesus was taken along this pathway to travel in Israel today is called with the popular name the Via Dolorosa and when you take that path if it is a similar path for the one he literally took in the first century. It's narrow there are markets on either side sometime very close to one another. The path narrows so the marketplace where people are gathered with us would get public attention to the one dragging his cross beam. They all knew what it meant. They all knew where he was going. They all knew what it represented.

So without a word as he goes through this. They all see the one carrying the cross beam on his way to Golgotha when he gets there before they knew the mailing and again Matthew writes with such simple words. There they nailed him to across but before that noticed the soldiers gave him wine mixed with bitter ball so mixture of oil with murder. A thick oil designed to stupefy the one about to be nailed to large beam to keep them from struggling and screaming violently. These are small nails. These are what we would call spikes there driven into the beam through the palm of the base of the palm of the wrist and once all the beam through the feet that are brought over each other that are drawn up.

So the knees protrude explain why in a moment. From here on is almost more than our imaginations can comprehend the most hideous and anguishing method of execution ever used. We read verse 35, after they nailed him to the cross and the Matthew goes on to understand that his nail while everything is on the ground. The cross beam is attached to the vertical beam and then it is lifted and the vertical beam or pole was dropped in the whole is the victim now hangs, pulled by gravity.

This is the words of various New Testament students and scholars describing crucifixion. William Barclay, the dreadful routine he calls Klausner, a Jewish historian, the most terrible and cruel death man has ever devised Cicero the Roman the most cruel and shameful of all punishments. William Wilson of the UK it is judicial, literary and historical investigation of what he called Jesus execution rights. Not only was the cross the most painful deaths was also considered the most debasing the condemned was stripped naked left exposed. It is agony the Romans even denied burial to the victim, allowing the body to hang on the cross until it literally disintegrated.

Harvey Ransom summarizes pain first.

The torture of insects exposure to brutal spectators. The horror of rigid fixation all continuing interminably combined to make it a supreme humiliation and torture. One of my sources stated that during the Roman era as many as 30,000 victims were put to death by crucifixion what is easy to forget is how long it took for the victim of the die which was part of the plan. While there were only two spikes, one for each hand and then one for the feet that were driven through the victim's body onto the beam so that he would live longer and are more painfully over time, the late biblical Hebrew scholar, under whom I the privilege of studying Maryland longer writes in his Bible dictionary that there were instances on record of persons surviving for nine days before death came while hanging on a cross.

How simple the words appear in the text they nailed him in a little later as he hung there as he hung there throwing dice for his clothing. Maybe they had three others that day.

That would be crucified. He's just one in a group they set around, someone put a sign over his head, because those who were crucified there was a public display of the crime. In his case, he was crucified in the eyes of the Romans were declaring to be the king of the Jews, the threat on the Emperor they set around people shouting abuse, leaving priests and teachers mocking him. Even the two revolutionaries on either side mocking him. The one leader did say remember me when you come into your kingdom before I go further. May I describe this scene there with me. Some historians describe a satellite piece of wood on the upright pole for the victim could rest the base of his pelvis and find relief.

His arms were now in the V position and Jesus became conscious of two unendurable circumstances. The first was the pain in his wrists became beyond bearing the muscle cramps, not in his forearms and upper arms and the pads on his shoulders. The second was that his pectoral muscles at his sides of his chest were momentarily paralyzed. This inducing him an involuntary panic 40 found that while he could draw air into his lungs.

He was powerless to exhale, to be able to keep breathing rights.

Bishop the victim on the cross and had to stay in constant motion so you literally drag himself up and down, up and down constantly so as to make breathing possible. Eventually he could no longer lift himself sufficiently to continue breathing. I interrupt for a moment to quote Dr. Truman Davis in his work.

The passion of Christ from a medical point of view as the arms for to great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain with these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward hanging by his arms.

The pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act error can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled Jesus flights to raise himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside spasmodically. He's able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.

All this represents hours of limitless pain cycles of twisting joint rending cramps intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves and down against the rough timber son suggested victims of crucifixion, died of suffocation.

Others teach that they died from hunger. Still others maintain they died from sheer exhaustion as the body eventually wore out from the unendurable pain and the unnatural suspension of the organs and muscles so the crucified people who pass by. According to verse 39, or shouting their there's what, mockery, and they are shaking their heads as they yell at him, misquoting him see his is words from earlier times, even the leading priests and teachers of religious law and elders joined in the scene there. I add that his own mother is watching it all along with a few of his closest friends unable to do a thing hearing these words that taught the one they love. As he is going through his darkest hour. Let me add this as horrific as the pain that isn't the worst part you read the worst part at verse 45 down through 46.

Look in your Bible at to darkness fell across the whole land until 3 o'clock. We would call it an eclipse, but it is in the natural eclipse. It is a supernatural shroud of darkness over the land at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Jesus literally screams with a loud voice.

I love you son of a godly translated by God, my God, why did you abandon for the first time in all of existence. God the father turns his back on God the son, why because the Lamb of God is bearing the sins of the world, a holy God cannot in any way relate to such a conglomeration of evil being born by the sun. Thus, the father's abandonment in that brief period of time as Jesus bore your sin.

My sins and the sins of the whole world. Imagine the weight as he bore the sins of the whole world is inconceivable and there's much more about this moment in history that Chuck Swindoll wants to describe for us. He's teaching from Matthew chapter 27 Andy titled this message those final dreadful hours and to learn more about this ministry. Please visit us online@insightworld.org. I'll remind you whenever we come to a pause in Chuck's teaching. It doesn't mean you're learning needs to stop insight for living provides a variety of resources designed to help you dig into God's word on your own. For instance, every sermon Chuck presents on this program is paired with searching the Scriptures study notes. These are posted for you online and their absolutely free.

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Join us on an unforgettable 12 day tour March 6-17, 2022 at special sites along the way, I will teach from God's word will worship at the Mount of Beatitudes and share the Lord's table at the garden to impact will Sail the Sea of Galilee together and will visit places where Jesus walked and talked to learn more or call 1-888-447-0444. Just imagine walking along the sacred sites and seeing the Bible to come to life before your very mark your calendar for March 6-17, 2022 and make your reservation by calling 1-888-447-0444 or go to insight.org/events insight for living ministries tour to Israel is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend, listen, when Chuck Swindoll continues to describe the final dreadful hours of Jesus life Tuesday on insight for living. The preceding message those final dreadful nouns was copyrighted in 2018 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for personal use is strictly prohibited