"They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him
and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again." - Mark
10:34
...and that is exactly what happened. The Bible records that he was beaten so badly that he could not be recognized.
Jewish law prescribed that a scourging was 39 lashes with a whip of 9 tails. Each tail was made of leather, with sharpened animal bones and iron balls attached at the ends. A Roman soldier, probably of great strength, carried out the punishment on Jesus.
He also endured this: slapped; hit, beared plucked out, splinters from the rough wood penetrated his raw flesh, 3-inch thorns thrust into His is brow, the sun burned His skin, no water, spikes driven through his wrists and through the thickest part of both feet. Amazing.
It is easy to focus on the physical part of what Jesus endured. But, that was not the worst part. The worst part was the spiritual/relational part. Think about it.
Jesus' own nation rejected Him. What if ALL Americans turned against you and demanded your death. His friend Judas, whom He loved, betrayed Him to His death. When He needed them most, ALL of His best, closest friends fled and left Him to face death alone. Peter even denied He knew Jesus.
Then, His own Dad- God the Father, deserted Him.
At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" - Mark 15:34
There is nothing worse than separation from God. Being separated from God means that ALL the evil and depravity and curse and hatred and fear and bitterness are are ALL unconstrained and all-consuming. ALL love is absent when God is absent. It is too much for us to even begin to comprehend. Being separated from God is, without a doubt, the worse thing that could ever happen to anyone. In fact, all the evil things we've ever seen or could ever imagine combined cannot approach that level of awefulness.
That's what Jesus experienced. Much worse than we can imagine.
It had to happen. Jesus had to take our punishment.
When we think about Hell, what we think about is the fire and physical part. But, that is not the bad part. The bad part is the literal separation from our Dad - God the Father. This punishment is yours and mine. It is what we deserve.
God the Father has offered up Jesus. God is always just and He knows their must be punishment. But God is always love too. Justice requires our punishment. Love made Jesus a substitute.
What have you decided? Do you trust Jesus to be your replacement or are you ready to take your punishment? Easter is a good time to pick Jesus.
